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STATS PREVIEW: CF Montréal vs Orlando City SC – 19.04.2025

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Orlando City SC just extended their unbeaten MLS streak to five matches (2-3-0), but we left last Saturday’s scrappy 0-0 draw with New York Red Bulls feeling frustrated. Still preserving a second successive shutout despite Rodrigo Schlegel’s red card, Oscar Pareja’s Lions now travel north of the border to face CF Montréal in chilly Quebec. Right now, Papi is at a tactical crossroads: stick with his cautious 3-4-2-1 or revert to our familiar 4-2-3-1? Either way, we must now cope with Rodrigo Schlegel’s one-game suspension.

CF Montréal enter this match scarred from a 0-1 defeat to Charlotte FC in their long-delayed 2025 home opener last Saturday. Winless in eight games and still bottom of the East, they’re continuing to adjust under interim head coach Marco Donadel, who stepped in following the dismissal of Laurent Courtois on March 25. This is just CF Montréal’s second home game at Stade Saputo in 2025, following seven straight on the road – a yearly tradition to avoid Quebec’s harsh winter. 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 →

Twitter reacts to… Gustavo Caraballo signing a first team contract with Orlando City SC

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After progressing through our development pathway, Academy and Orlando City B product Gustavo Caraballo has today signed a first team contract with Orlando City SC.

The 16-year-old Venezuelan forward has put pen to paper on a deal through 2027, with a club option for 2028. In doing so, he becomes the youngest player in Orlando City SC history to sign a first team contract at just 16 years and 198 days old.

Not only our latest Homegrown Player, Gustavo Caraballo becomes our seventh winter arrival after Colin Guske, Nicolás Rodríguez, Carlos Mercado, Marco Pašalić, Eduard Atuesta, and Joran Gerbet. 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 →

Orlando City SC’s complete 2025 MLS schedule revealed

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(Credit: Orlando City SC)

Orlando City SC supporters have today learned when each of their thirty-four 2025 Major League Soccer regular season fixtures will be played.

With all MLS franchises’ complete regular season schedules released today, away days can be planned, rivalry games can be circled, and Lions supporters can now start mapping out Orlando City SC’s quest to reach the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. 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 →

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 →

STATS PREVIEW: FC Cincinnati vs Orlando City SC – 05.10.2024

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Orlando City SC are simply on fire right now! Extending our strong run of form last night, City secured a vital 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union at Inter&Co Stadium. This win not only completed a 2024 season sweep over Jim Curtin’s Philadelphia Union, but also marked a milestone for Facundo Torres, who became Orlando City SC’s all-time leading goalscorer (45) across all competitions. Impressively, it was also our fourth consecutive home victory in the MLS regular season, extending our unbeaten run at home to 10 matches (7-3-0) across all competitions. With a top four finish still ours to lose, the Lions remain firmly in the hunt for home field advantage in the Round One Best-of-3 Series of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Following yesterday’s win, Orlando City SC remain fourth in the Eastern Conference with 49 points from 32 games. In fact, no side has won more points (27) in MLS since the beginning of July than the Lions. But with New York City FC and New York Red Bulls just two points behind us, our lead is far from secure as all three teams get set to contest their final two MLS regular season fixtures. NYCFC’s 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati yesterday propelled them to 47 points, while Red Bulls matched that total by thrashing Toronto FC 1-4 at BMO Field. It was a strong way to bounce back from a humiliating 1-5 home defeat to New York City FC last weekend in the Hudson River Derby.

Given how tight the current standings are, this makes every remaining point crucial as Orlando City SC aim to secure a second successive top four seeding in the post-season. With last night’s 3-2 defeat at NYCFC, Saturday’s opponents FC Cincinnati (56 points) missed the chance to overtake Ohio rivals Columbus Crew (57 points), who slipped up with a 2-3 home defeat to Inter Miami. A victory that saw The Herons unfortunately crowned 2024 Supporters’ Shield champions, FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew are currently jockeying for second place. Despite goals from Luciano Acosta and Corey Baird, Pat Noonan’s FC Cincinnati fell short at NYCFC and they’ll be eager to respond against Orlando City SC at a boisterous TQL Stadium.

But under the pressure of securing a top four finish, City’s attack has thrived, with Facundo Torres, Martín Ojeda, and Ramiro Enrique making significant contributions since June. Despite Orlando City SC scoring just 17 goals in our first 17 MLS games of 2024, we’ve netted 38 in the last 15, matching 2016 and 2023’s joint club record of 55 goals in a single MLS regular season. With Orlando City SC now set to contest our final away fixture of the regular season, the Lions should be feeling mighty confident, especially given our ability to dominate or grind out results.

Oscar Pareja, the coaching staff, and players deserve massive credit for this tactical versatility and for peaking at the right time, much like we did last season. When you combine regular goalscoring with defensive discipline – as we are right now – this is the winning formula! With our post-season spot already secured, all eyes are on Orlando City SC to maintain our top four position and build momentum for what we hope is our deepest playoff run yet! And who knows, maybe, just maybe lifting the 2024 MLS Cup? Continue reading →