A look back at Orlando City’s record-setting season
The Lions are the No. 2 seed for the MLS Cup playoffs and will host at least the first two rounds at Exploria Stadium. Their 18 wins and 63 points set club records, and their 55 goals tied a club record.
John Raoux/AP
Orlando City’s Wilder Cartagena, left, and New York City FC’s Talles Magno collide while going after the ball. (John Raoux/AP)
Feb. 25: Orlando City 1, Red Bull NY 0. New York outshot the Lions 14-6 with four being on target. Their only shot on target came on Facundo Torres’ penalty kick that hit the mark.
March 4: Orlando City 0, Cincinnati 0. Pedro Gallese made a pair of big saves in the first half as the Lions’ offense continued to struggle with creating chances.
March 11: Orlando City 1 D.C. United 1. Duncan McGuire scored in his MLS debut with the Lions but D.C. got an 80th-minute goal from Chris Durkin to force a draw.
March 18: Charlotte 2, Orlando City 1. An inability to finish and allowing the winless visitors to score both of their goals in the first half spelled doom for the Lions.
March 25: Orlando City 2, Philadelphia 1. Shorthanded with several international players out with their national teams, the Lions ended the Union’s 24-game home unbeaten streak behind first-half goals from Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo
April 1: Nashville 2, Orlando City 0. The Lions’ defense was caught napping in the 28th minute on Fabrice Picault’s chip shot to open the scoring. They created multiple chances in front of the net but couldn’t cash in.
April 15: Orlando City 2, Minnesota 1. McGuire scored an unassisted goal in the 88th minute to clinch the Lions’ first regular-season win in four tries against Minnesota.
April 22: D.C. United 3, Orlando City 1. The Lions fell behind in the 15th minute and couldn’t recover. McGuire scored an equalizer but D.C. added goals in the 53rd and the 62nd.
April 29: Orlando City 2, L.A. Galaxy 0. Ercan Kara took advantage of sloppy goalkeeping to score his first MLS goal of the season from a tight angle in the 38th minute. Torres put an end to his eight-game goalless drought by finding the net in the 58th.
May 6: Montreal 2, Orlando City 0. An own-goal by Lions defender Robin Jansson broke open a scoreless match in the second half.
May 13: Orlando City 2, Columbus 2. McGuire scored in the second minute of stoppage time for his team-leading fourth goal to complete a rally from a two-goal deficit.
May 17: Orlando City 1, New York City 1. The Lions got the momentum rolling early with a seventh-minute headed goal by Kara but couldn’t generate more chances. An 89th-minute goal from NYC forced them to settle for one point.
May 20: Orlando City 3, Inter Miami 1. Kara and Ojeda each had a goal and an assist in the road triumph.
May 27: Orlando City 1, Atlanta United 1. Defender Kyle Smith scored in the 30th minute, but the Lions gave up an 86th-minute goal off a deflection and settled for one point instead.
June 3: Orlando City 3, Red Bull NY 0. It only took 18 minutes as Angulo ran in behind the defensive line, received a pass and lofted the ball over the goalkeeper to score his third goal of the season. A 47th-minute red card gave the Lions a man advantage, Torres scored on a penalty pick and the rout was on.
June 10: Orlando City 2, Colorado 0. A red card in the 39th minute flipped the momentum in favor of the Lions, who took advantage in the 56th when Torres shot took a deflection to find the back of the net. Another ejection led to a two-man edge as forward Ramiro Enrique scored his first goal with the club in the 83rd.
June 17: New England 3, Orlando City 1. The Lions, missing key players to international duty, saw their six-game unbeaten streak come to an end. Gallese, Torres and midfielder Wilder Cartagena were gone out.
June 21: Orlando City 2, Philadelphia 2. The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the 54th minute when Ojeda’s shot glanced off McGuire’s foot for a goal but they couldn’t keep the lead. Jose Martinez tied it at 2 with his first MLS goal in the 90th minute for the Union.
June 24: Orlando City 0, Seattle 0. Even with key starters back from international duties, the Lions could not get back to winning form despite controlling 57% of possession in the first half.
Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel
Lions captain Mauricio Pereyra chests the ball to try to control it against Inter Miami at Exploria Stadium. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
July 1: Orlando City 3, Chicago 1. Torres got his head on Smith’s cross in the 38th minute and converted a penalty kick in the 55th.
July 4: Orlando City 4, Toronto 0. Midfielder César Araújo scored in the 16th minute as the Lions picked apart former Orlando City goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh. McGuire scored six minutes later in a blowout.
July 8: Salt Lake 4, Orlando City 0. Tired legs caught up with the Lions, seventh place in the East, in their second game of the week.
July 15: Orlando City 2, Atlanta United 1. Antonio Carlos scored a header off captain Mauricio Pereyra’s free kick in the 25th minute en route to ending Atlanta’s five-game unbeaten streak. Pereyra’s through ball to McGuire put the Lions ahead in the 59th.
Aug. 20: Orlando City 3, Chicago 1. After falling behind two minutes into the second half, the Lions went on a tear. Cartagena scored the equalizer three minutes later for his first goal and Angulo gave Orlando City the lead in the 54th. Torres added a penalty kick in the 68th.
Aug. 26: Orlando City 2, St. Louis 1. Torres took advantage of a great pass in the box from Dagur Dan Thórhallsson in the 48th minute and bounced his shot into goal for a 1-0 lead. He slotted home a penalty kick in the 89th to break the tie against the West leader.
Aug. 30: Orlando City 1, Charlotte 1. Ojeda scored an amazing unassisted goal in the 88th minute to offset a penalty kick seven minutes earlier to rally the Lions and elevate them to third place.
Sept. 2: Orlando City 1, Cincinnati 0. Torres scored late in the second half to snap the home team’s 13-game unbeaten streak at TQL Stadium.
Sept. 16: Orlando City 4, Columbus 3. The Crew led 3-1 in the 68th minute but Torres scored off the bench in the 73rd on a pass from Ojeda and Enrique was the recipient of a fortuitous bounce in the 86th to tie it. Torres scored again in stoppage time.
Sept. 20: New York City 2, Orlando City 0. Mounsef Bakrar scored the only goal needed in the first half. The Lions, however, clinched a playoff berth anyway.
Sept. 24: Orlando City 1, Inter Miami 1. Trailing, the Lions scored in the 66th minute when McGuire found the back of the net.
Kevin Kolczynski/AP
CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois protects the goal against a shot from Orlando City midfielder Martín Ojeda. (Kevin Kolczynski/AP)
Sept. 30: Orlando City 3, Montreal 0. An unlucky bounce off goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois in the 19th minute produced an own goal. Thorhallsson tapped in a perfectly weighted ball from McGuire on his first touch.
Oct. 4: Orlando City 1, Nashville 0. McGuire scored in the 44th minute and Gallese earned his 10th clean sheet.
Oct. 7: Orlando City 3, New England 2. Orlando scored first in the 31st minute after Thorhallsson delivered an excellent cross that McGuire headed in. Torres got on the scoresheet in the 37th minute after a cross from Angulo.
Oct. 21: Orlando City 2, Toronto 0. McGuire scored both goals 11 minutes apart in the second half.
