New York City FC

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs New York City FC – 16.07.2025

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A 1-1 home draw against CF Montréal — really? 🤔 Winless against the bottom side this year? Not good enough. 😤 I was gutted by the full-time whistle on Saturday. Prince Owusu’s late penalty not only cost us a much-needed victory but worryingly stretched our winless run to three. Post-game, Ricardo Moreira captured the mood, tweeting: “We’re not here to settle for ‘enough’” – a clear sign of how costly these dropped points felt in the race for the Eastern Conference top four.

Now, Orlando City SC face New York City FC in a crucial midweek showdown at Inter&Co Stadium. Sitting just four points behind us and eager to close the gap, NYCFC are scarred from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Charlotte FC. But The Pigeons are always a tough opponent, home or away. With our hopes of a top four finish fading fast, only a victory will do here. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Chicago Fire – 31.05.2025

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Nobody to blame but ourselves! 😡 Referee Filip Dujic may have made headlines in our 3-2 loss to Atlanta United. But César Araújo gave him a decision to make. Grabbing Mateusz Klich by the throat while leading 1-2 on the road? It was stupid, costly, and avoidable against a team we despise.

Oscar Pareja said after the match that he had challenged Araújo’s red card before the referee sent him off. While the club plans to address Dujic’s officiating internally, I can’t say I have much sympathy. We’ve been here before – hot-headed, undisciplined, and beaten. We didn’t learn! In a game that mattered this much, in enemy territory, we handed Atlanta the upper hand. We imploded, plain and simple. Now, we must finish May with a win over Chicago Fire. It’s crucial that we head into the international break still in the hunt at the top of the East. Continue reading →

Twitter reacts to… the 2025 Orlando City SC Adidas One Planet pre-match top

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To commemorate Earth Day on April 22, the Orlando City SC players will be warming up in a special Adidas One Planet pre-match top – made with 100% recycled Parley Ocean Plastic™.

Unlike previous MLS seasons, these awareness raising kits will only be worn as a pre-match top for warm-ups and not in competition like they were in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs D.C. United – 22.03.2025

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Orlando City SC’s defensive struggles continued last time out, as the Lions let two leads slip in a frustrating 2-2 draw at New York Red Bulls. While Martín Ojeda and Marco Pašalić produced moments of brilliance, soft goals at the other end proved costly once again. On a positive note, Luis Muriel has been more effective this season, helping the Lions adopt a more direct attacking style under Oscar Pareja.

Now, City return home to Inter&Co Stadium, facing Troy Lesesne’s unbeaten D.C. United side (1-3-0) who drew 0-0 with CF Montréal last weekend. With Pedro Gallese away on international duty, young keeper Javier Otero is set for a big opportunity, while Duncan McGuire’s return from injury offers us a timely boost. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: New York City FC vs Orlando City SC – 08.03.2025

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The sun always shines after the storm, right? Orlando City SC flipped the script last Saturday, securing their first MLS win of 2025 with a commanding 4-2 victory over Toronto FC at Inter&Co Stadium. After falling by the same scoreline a week prior, the Lions got that monkey off their back at the second time of asking, proving that a week is a long time in soccer!

Now, City hit the road for the first time this MLS regular season, facing New York City FC at Yankee Stadium – a tough test that kicks off a stretch of four away games in our next five. This game is NYCFC’s 2025 MLS home opener, but The Pigeons come into it scarred after losing 1-0 at Los Angeles FC on Matchday 2. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Toronto FC – 01.03.2025

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“Painful”. Martín Ojeda’s one-word summary said it all as Orlando City SC suffered their first-ever MLS home opener loss, falling 2-4 to Philadelphia Union last Saturday. A disastrous start to the second-half left the Lions with a mountain to climb, overshadowing Marco Pašalić’s debut brace.

“We made mistakes that don’t belong in this game, at this level” said Oscar Pareja who knows a major improvement is needed to restore fan confidence in the season ahead. Continue reading →

Twitter reacts to… Real Salt Lake acquiring Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City SC

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Out of the blue, Orlando City SC traded longtime Lion Mason Stajduhar to Real Salt Lake yesterday in exchange for $50,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM), a second round draft pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, and up to $150,000 in GAM based on performance metrics. With Carlos Mercado and now Mason Stajduhar having departed, only Pedro Gallese and the inexperienced Javier Otero remain, with the club likely to add another backup goalkeeper behind Gallese.

The longest-tenured player in club history, Stajduhar overcame a battle with Ewing sarcoma – inspiring us all when returning to the field in 2018. A bone cancer survivor and 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion, Stajduhar set an Orlando City SC single-match club record with 11 saves against Chicago Fire in June 2024. He also made history as the first goalkeeper to record an assist for the Lions at Toronto FC on 2023 MLS Decision Day. Continue reading →

2025 MLS SuperDraft preview: Reviewing Orlando City SC’s 35 draft picks since 2015

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The MLS SuperDraft is the most exciting event in the lives of every young North American college soccer player.

With Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft getting underway this Friday (December 20), Orlando City UK took this moment to reflect on how Orlando City SC’s annual picks have fared since our inaugural 2015 season. Continue reading →

Winners revealed in Orlando City UK’s 2024 end-of-season awards

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This past week, we asked Orlando City SC supporters on X to select their Orlando City SC Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2024 as part of our annual Orlando City UK end-of-season awards.

A public vote designed to recognise the standout Orlando City SC players in our promising, yet ultimately unfruitful 2024 campaign, we can now proudly reveal the winners as voted by you! Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs New York Red Bulls – 30.11.2024

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Drink it in and savour the moment, folks! Orlando City SC have reached their first-ever Eastern Conference Final. This is all thanks to last Sunday’s well-deserved 1-0 victory over fierce rivals Atlanta United. On a historic night to remember at Inter&Co Stadium, the Lions needed no luck to send The Five Stripes packing. Holding our nerve, we delivered a statement performance that put the ‘L’ in Atlanta. It was a landmark triumph that sent a clear message to the rest of Major League Soccer – “We ready”! Bless Atlanta United’s hearts because deep down, they know we are the true football kings of the Southeastern United States!

The type of night that doesn’t come around too often, last Sunday helped cap what was undoubtedly the best-ever weekend in Orlando’s sporting legacy. Last Saturday, Orlando Pride made history, triumphantly winning the 2024 NWSL Championship with a gritty 1-0 victory over Washington Spirit in Kansas City. This followed their 2024 NWSL Shield win just 48 days earlier. Being the first professional team to win a major league title for The City Beautiful, the Pride set the tone for Orlando City SC’s own historic 1-0 victory the next evening. Considering Barbra Banda (37 minutes) and Ramiro Enrique’s (39 minutes) goals were just two minutes apart – across the same weekend – perhaps the stars are truly aligning? Could 2024 be the year where Orlando Pride and Orlando City SC BOTH win U.S. Soccer’s biggest domestic prizes? We sure hope it pans out this way!

While City’s 1-0 scoreline over Atlanta United may not sound commanding, the Lions’ performance was super mature. We were hungry, controlled, and virtually untroubled throughout the entire 90+7 minutes. Orlando City SC were so composed and determined that you had to wonder: was this really the team that had just eliminated Lionel Messi and Inter Miami? As you know, Orlando always welcomes tourists, and for the travelling Atlanta United supporters scattered around Inter&Co Stadium, we hope they enjoyed their latest visit to the Sunshine State! Now, having finally won an Eastern Conference Semi-Final at the third attempt, Orlando City SC are just 180+ minutes away from the ultimate prize: 2024 MLS Cup glory!

With Inter Miami (#1 in East), defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew (#2 in East), and Los Angeles FC (#1 in West) already eliminated, we’ll never have a better opportunity to win MLS Cup – plain and simple! It truly has been one of, if not the most unpredictable MLS Cup Playoffs of all-time. Next up though, the Lions face Sandro Schwarz’s New York Red Bulls. While many favourites have already fallen, Red Bulls are still a top-quality, tough opponent, and can never be taken lightly. Playing the gritty Red Bulls way, their super high press, aggression, and intensity make them a dangerous opponent, season in and season out. Should we prevail, the reward is monumental – a trip out west to battle either LA Galaxy or Seattle Sounders in 2024 MLS Cup itself! Having now gone further than any Orlando City SC side has before, this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for – so let’s make it count! Continue reading →