The Lions’ latest match went a lot like their last, as Orlando City defeated the New England Revolution 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium. Two weeks removed from a 3-0 win over Nashville SC, Orlando (11-10-7, 40 points) got goals from Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres, and Duncan McGuire and two big saves from Pedro Gallese to shut out the Revs (8-16-3, 27 points), sweeping the season series from New England for the first time in club history.

With the win, the Lions finally climbed over the .500 mark on the season and also broke even at home (5-5-4).

“It seems like we were precise in the moments that we needed the most,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But the discipline and the commitment that we all have with the structure of the team just allow us to survive in moments where New England as well had their chances. So, while we’re growing collectively, the team will have a better chances to have performances like this and winning more points. So we’re happy with it.”

Pareja’s lineup included goalkeeper Gallese behind a back line of Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. David Brekalo was held out of the lineup for precautionary reasons after experiencing muscle discomfort prior to the match. Cesar Araujo — who it turns out did not get booked in the last game, as the yellow card he was shown by the referee was actually for McGuire — and Wilder Cartagena started in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Torres with Ramiro Enrique up top.

The first half was played evenly in terms of territory, but the Lions created the most danger from their possession. It started early with a good ball across from the left that Torres volleyed just over the net in the 15th minute. Two minutes later, Enrique tried to pick out a streaking Ojeda in front of goal but the pass was too close to Revs goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, who collected.

New England couldn’t do anything with a series of early set pieces, including two corners and a free kick from near the right corner.

A good buildup in the 20th minute ended up crossed from left to right and Thorhallsson sent a good ball back across for Enrique, who went for a spectacular volley but sent it well wide to the right. Thorhallsson was a problem for New England left back Peyton Miller throughout the half, and only a last-second intercession by Tim Parker prevented a good cross from getting through for a tap-in in the 22nd minute. However, the ensuing corner produced a spectacular goal for Orlando.

Ojeda played the ball short to Angulo on the end line. The Colombian turned and fired a pass to Santos outside the box. The Brazilian fullback wasn’t closed down and blasted a curling shot from 25 yards out that found the top left corner, beating Ivacic and making it 1-0. It’s sure to be an MLS Goal of the Matchday candidate.

SANTOS SET PIECE STUNNER 🔥

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/kSrGVFoQ1r pic.twitter.com/5hh2HjBaj0

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 15, 2024

“We’ve been working on that play for a while now, so you were attentive to the ball that was coming, and thankfully had the opportunity to score,” Santos said through a club interpreter.

“For me, it wasn’t surprising at all,” McGuire said of Santos’ blast. “We play two-touch every day after practice and he scores that goal 15 times a day. And it’s annoying because he always beats all of us. So, I’m honestly not surprised he scored that. When I saw him with that much space, I knew it was going to be a goal. And all the guys behind me (on the bench) were like, ‘That’s nothing we haven’t seen before.’ So yeah, it was definitely sick and I’m happy for him and hopefully he can keep that going as well.”

Cartagena tried to double the lead in the 28th minute after a quick steal in New England’s third, but he hit his shot off target to the left.

New England’s best chance came a minute later. The Lions were caught a bit disorganized on a Revolution attack, allowing space above the box. Ian Harkes ran onto a pass and blasted a shot high over the net from the top of the area.

The game was played in the middle third for the next 15 minutes but then Orlando found some space. Torres sent Enrique behind on the right, but the Argentine needed an extra touch to control the ball, and by the time he shot it, Dave Romney arrived to block it out of play for a corner in the 44th minute. Nothing came from the set piece, but the Lions struck again moments later.

A ball in the box hit the outstretched arm of Carles Gil and referee Tori Penso immediately signaled for a penalty. Torres stood over the spot kick and crushed it into the upper right corner to make it 2-0 in the second added minute. It was Torres’ 11th goal of the season. For Santos, it was his first goal of the season but just his second MLS goal.

Facundo Torres delivers from the spot 🎯@OrlandoCitySC take a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/DKwFrAYUst

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 15, 2024

“Taking a PK brings a lot of elements — confidence, talent, preparation, the mental part, in that moment, in that part of the game,” Pareja said. “But Facu’s attitude when the PKs come, including one that he lost, he’s very confident. He wants to do it. So, that mental part, we have a good option to score with him. And also he’s training. They spend time on that part.”

Ojeda nearly made it 3-0 in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, but his blast toward the near post was saved by Ivacic. The ball recycled to Araujo, who found Cartagena wide open, but the Peruvian’s shot was into the upper deck on the south end of the stadium. That was the last sight of goal for either side before the halftime whistle.

At the break, Orlando City held the edge in possession (50.5%-49.5%), shots (9-3), and shots on target (3-0). Both teams won two corners, and the Revolution passed more accurately (88.2%-85.9%).

The first part of the second half belonged to Orlando as well, with the Lions trying to fire through a crowd from the top of the box. Araujo’s shot deflected out for a corner in the 50th minute but the Lions couldn’t pay it off.

Torres blasted a shot from the top of the area off the right post five minutes later, as the Lions came forward in transition.

New England got on the front foot for a while starting in the hour mark. Araujo fouled Gil from behind unnecessarily, giving the Revs a free kick from 25 yards out. Gil hit the free kick well, but Gallese came across to his right with a huge save to keep it out of the net.

“When we were two zero, that was my main concern,” Pareja said about keeping New England from clawing back into the game. “I said, ‘We cannot let them believe in the game, and we need the third goal. If not, it will be complicated.’ And then comes that free kick. Pedro saved us, and they had a couple (more) chances too. It was a big challenge today. It was not easy.”

That set piece fired up the Revolution and they had the better of the play for a spell. Jansson did well to make a sliding block of a Giacomo Vrioni shot in the 62nd minute.

After Cartagena fired wide of goal in the 65th minute on a recycled corner kick, the Lions dodged a bullet. Gil’s hard cross through the area found its way to Vrioni on the left side of the box, but his redirect went just inches wide of the post in the 67th minute.

Orlando was able to regain control of the match for the final stretch. Torres was set up on the left in the 70th minute but fired just wide of the near post off a nice pass from Cartagena. A minute later, Thorhallsson fired wide and high from a tight angle on the right, which was probably the wrong choice as second-half sub McGuire was wide open in front of goal.

McGuire scored moments later anyway to put the game to bed. Torres played the ball wide right to sub Nico Lodeiro, who played McGuire in behind from the right with a lovely ball. McGuire had Torres streaking down the left but blasted a shot that Ivacic got a piece of but couldn’t keep out. The Lions led 3-0 in the 74th minute. It was McGuire’s eighth goal of the season but his first since June 28 against New York City FC.

BIG DUNC IS BACK 👊

Duncan McGuire pulls @OrlandoCitySC up 3-0. pic.twitter.com/HxBmCtzuZs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 15, 2024

“I saw a lot of space in the back line,” McGuire said. “I saw Nico had a lot of space as well. So I didn’t think he get pressed for a little bit. So, I had time to make a run and and Nico got his head up and played a great ball through, and fell a little lucky with the finish, but, you know, I’ll take it. It has been a while since I’ve scored. It’s been a bit annoying for my standard, so yeah, definitely glad to be back on the score sheet, but at the end of the day, if we’re winning as a team, then that’s all that matters.”

Lodeiro tried to make it 4-0 in the 79th minute on a free kick won by Thorhallsson just inches to the right of the penalty area. The Uruguayan went for goal but fizzed his shot just over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

Gallese made another big save in the 83rd minute to deny Emmanuel Boateng, who had slipped in behind the right side of Orlando’s defense. The Peruvian came off his line to make the stop.

Each team had a good opportunity to score in stoppage time. Thorhallsson made yet another good pass to set up Cartagena at the top of the area in the second added minute but the Peruvian hit his shot straight at Ivacic, which left him talking to himself as he retreated back to his defensive position.

Moments later, Vrioni missed an open header just wide of the left post. That was the final opportunity of the match, and the Lions had their second consecutive 3-0 victory.

Orlando City finished with the advantage in possession (54.4%-45.6%), shots (20-9), and shots on target (5-2). New England won more corners (7-5) and passed more accurately (89.1% 86.4%).

“Within the game, I thought we had control, and when we had the chances, that is something that just made me very optimistic,” said Pareja, who won his 170th MLS regular-season game to pull into a tie for fifth all-time with Dominc Kinnear. “We’re scoring goals again and that makes it look like we’re in a good place.”

Offense aside, the Lions haven’t conceded in two games, and kept Gil quiet most of the night.

“MLS has quality players at all times, so we knew what we had to concentrate and focus on,” Santos said. “And at the end of the day, it’s just not giving the opponent the opportunity, and that’s what we tried to do.”

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Orlando City is back in action at home on Wednesday against Charlotte FC.

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City and the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season.

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

History

The Lions are 4-7-7 in the regular-season series against New England and 5-8-7 in all competitions. At home, Orlando City is 3-1-5 against the Revs in the regular season and 4-2-5 in all competitions.

The last meeting between the teams took place on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Facundo Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams last met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as Duncan McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Carles Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022 and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring 15 minutes in, but Nani tied things up less than 10 minutes later. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up with more than a half hour to play.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. Penilla and Fagundez provided the offense. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4. Orlando battled back from a 2-0 deficit after Juan Agudelo and Penilla found the net. Dwyer scored the first, and Amro Tarek added his first MLS goal to level things. Teal Bunbury restored the Revolution’s lead, but Scott Sutter headed home a Yoshimar Yotún set piece delivery in stoppage time to rescue a point for the Lions.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. Kaká scored a brace, with Dwyer getting his first home goal as an MLS Lion and Yotún and Antonio Nocerino each scoring their first-ever goal with OCSC. Seb Hines also scored for Orlando and  Lee Nguyen got the Revs’ only tally on a free kick. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count and it could have been worse. Kei Kamara netted a hat trick and Bunbury also scored, with Nguyen assisting on all four goals to tie an MLS record. Jose Aja was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City hasn’t played in two weeks since defeating Nashville SC 3-0 at home Sept. 7. The Lions are 6-1-3 across all competitions in their last 10 matches. In league play, Orlando is 1-1-0 since the restart after Leagues Cup, and the Lions are just 4-5-4 at home in 2024, but tonight presents an opportunity to pull back to .500 at Inter&Co Stadium on the season.

The Revolution sit 12th in the Eastern Conference entering tonight but New England is just five points out of a spot in the postseason play-in game. The Revs have taken just one point from their last two matches (0-1-1) after a 2-2 draw last weekend at home against St. Louis City. New England is 4-8-0 on the road this year.

Having any success against New England usually demands that the opposition keeps tabs on Gil, one of the league’s most lethal playmakers and a guy who can score goals of his own as well. Gil has six goals — just three behind Revs’ leading scorer Giacomo Vrioni’s nine — and leads New England with eight assists. Vrioni is the key focal point for the Orlando defense to stop up top, and he’s already got a goal against Orlando this season. New England will be without suspended Head Coach Caleb Porter tonight after he criticized the officiating in his team’s recent draw against St. Louis.

“We have tried to keep the players in competition mode, and our training has been just exactly what we do normally when we are competing, whether it’s a weekend game or in between the week,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We’re good. The work has been normal, and now we have the national team players here, so we’re ready.”

Orlando City will be without Mason Stajduhar (lower leg). New England will be without Thomas Chancalay (knee).

Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report provides more info on the Revs from Jake Catanese from independent New England blog, The Blazing Musket.
• Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for the match.

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Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Javier Otero, Luca Petrasso, Kyle Smith, Jeorgio Kocevski, Felipe, Nico Lodeiro, Yutaro Tsukada, Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

New England Revolution (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders: Peyton Miller, Tim Parker, Dave Romney, Nick Lima.

Defensive Midfielders: Ian Harkes, Mark-Anthony Kaye.

Attacking Midfielders: Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil, Luca Langoni.

Forward: Giacomo Vrioni.

Bench: Earl Edwards, Jr., Andrew Farrell, Xavier Arreaga, Nacho Gil, Alhassan Yusuf, Tommy McNamara, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Emmanuel Boateng, Bobby Wood.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Kathryn Nesbitt.
4TH: Rosendo Mendoza.
VAR: Geoff Gamble.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30p.m. ET.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

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Enjoy the match. Go City!

After a two-week break between matches, Orlando City is back in action Saturday and will try to make it two wins on the bounce after handily dispatching Nashville SC 3-0 during the team’s last outing. This week sees the Lions play their second game of the season against the New England Revolution, following the first meeting back in July when Orlando grabbed a first-ever victory at Gillette Stadium.

A date with the Revs means I caught up with Jake Catanese of the always excellent independent site The Blazing Musket. As usual, Jake was very helpful in getting us up to speed on New England, and I also answered some of his questions about OCSC, so make sure you check those out over at their place.

The Revs have tallied a perfectly balanced record of 1-1-1 since Leagues Cup ended. What’s been your general impression of the team’s play during those games?

Jake Catanese: About what the record has said, a true mixed bag. A blowout win in Montreal, where the Revs just hammered the counter and scored in bunches, a tough loss at RSL where they got outplayed but gave away goals on silly mistakes, and then a really interesting draw against St. Louis last time out that I think a lot of people heard about.

Overall, the Revs have really improved as the season has gone on, and a lot of that has to do with health but also a drastic shift in aggression. When the Revs are forced to sit in their own half and ping the ball around, they look really ineffective when they eventually do get the ball into the attacking half. But when New England catches you backpedaling, it’s only a matter of time before they find someone open in and around the box for a good shooting chance. I think New England is one of the best countering/transition teams in the league, but there’s still long stretches of play where they choose not to push the ball forward and that is usually playing into their weakness.

New England has conceded 51 goals in 26 games, which is third most in the Eastern Conference. Is there concern about the defense, and if so, how has coach Caleb Porter gone about addressing it?

JC: The defense has largely been fine. The goal difference makes things seem a lot worse because the New England just had a lot of trouble generating anything offensively in the first month or two of the season. There’s been a handful of blowouts where the Revs were dealing with heavy squad rotation and injuries, and playing without Carles Gil really hampers the Revs in the transition game, so largely when the Revs are playing at full strength they’ve been competitive. There have been a lot of glaring individual errors leading to goals, but a lot of those occur when the Revs are pinned back and passing amongst themselves, which as we’ve already stated, is a bad thing.

The Revs are facing a dilemma at center back though, with the Henry Kessler trade to St. Louis. He was their only CB under a guaranteed deal for 2025. That means they have decisions to make on Tim Parker, Dave Romney, and Xavier Arreaga, as well as veterans Matt Polster and Nick Lima, among others. Newcomer Alhassan Yusuf has yet to make his debut (international duty with Nigeria as soon as his visa cleared) and could add a lot of help from the central defensive midfield position. Right now there should be enough playing time down the stretch for the three center backs in particular to show what they can do and perhaps force the Revs into some tough decisions. 

Despite any defensive shakiness, statistical or otherwise, the Revs are only five points out of the last play-in place and have at least one game in hand on all of the teams in the East besides Columbus. What needs to happen for New England to get into the playoffs, and how far do you think they could go if they get there?

JC: Well, kind of a lot. The Revs only have three home games remaining and they dropped points to a not great St. Louis team at home that they really needed. Their final two games are at Columbus and at Miami, where they might force Messi to pry their 2021 Shield campaign single-season points record from their cold, dead hands. At this point, dropping any more points at home could be the final nail in the playoff coffin and the Revs are going to have to win probably two of their upcoming road games against Orlando, Charlotte, and Houston, which are all solidly in the midtable. 

At best, the Revs can get into the play-in game, but then they’re more than likely going to face Miami as the top-seed in a three-game series if they even advance in the one-off match. If the Revs get hot and Gil goes on a 2021 MVP-level heater and Luca Langoni and/or Giacomo Vrioni are finding the back of the net every week, they can absolutely scare someone, but I don’t see them getting past Miami or Columbus in the first round. So that means the Revs need to jump up 10+ points into Orlando/Charlotte range to be one of the middle seeds to make a deep run, and they’re just too far back to make up that ground, barring a massive win streak and probably a catastrophic collapse from a team or two ahead of them.

Are there any players who will be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

JC: Hehehe, well, we have a head coach who’s not available due to suspension, but I think everyone knows that. It was kind of hard to miss.

On the injury front, Tomas Chancalay is out for the year which is a bummer. Brandon Bye missed last week’s game but might be fit to be on the bench this week. Esmir Bajraktarevic, Arreaga, and Yusuf all return from international duty.

4-2-3-1: Aljaz Ivacic; Peyton Miller, Xavier Arrega, Tim Parker, Nick Lima; Matt Polster, Ian Harkes; Luca Langoni, Carles Gil, Dylan Borrero; Giacomo Vrioni.
About as solid of a starting group as the Revs can do, with Will Sands possibly starting again at fullback over Lima. If Yusuf is ready to start, he could feature next to Polster, and at some point Esmir should appear. Since he subbed on for Bosnia and had an assist to some guy named Edin Dzeko on his debut for them, I think he’s in good form.

The Revs need this one but the PawedCast gods demand their usual 2-2 draw.

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Thank you to Jake for the helpful insight into the Revolution. Vamos Orlando!