WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 31, 2022) - Orlando City SC (8-9-6, 30 points) dropped a 2-1 decision to D.C. United (6-12-3, 21 points) at Audi Field late in the game on Sunday night, as the hosts struck twice in second-half stoppage time to take the win.
Midfielder Júnior Urso opened things up on the night with a ninth-minute finish off an Alexandre Pato assist. The goal stood as Urso’s fourth across all competitions, while Pato picked up his fifth helper on the year. Pedro Gallese kept D.C. United scoreless in the 61st minute, denying Taxiarchis Fountas right in front of goal. The hosts picked up two late goals from Chris Durkin and Fountas in the first and fifth minutes of second-half stoppage time respectively to deny the Lions points on the night.
Orlando City returns to Exploria Stadium this Saturday, Aug. 6 to host the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. ET. That match is set to be televised locally on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV, with tickets available here.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“We are very disappointed and have a lot of pain with tonight’s result. After that great first half and part of the second half too, we just ended up giving up a result that was very important for us. I think I did not coach them well, especially in the second half I did not help them and I take that responsibility. I feel like I could have done a much better job in helping them, but the boys put a lot of effort there and had a tremendous half after our emotional and fantastic game on Wednesday. We just couldn’t continue in the second half with the same pace and we ended up giving up this result that for us is losing three points that we had in our pockets.”
Scoring Recap:
9’ Júnior Urso (Alexandre Pato) - ORL 1, DC 0
The Lions took the lead early on as forward Alexandre Pato picked off an errant pass and lofted a through ball down the right wing for midfielder Júnior Urso. Urso took a first-time chip from the corner of the box and found the top-left side of the net for the opener.
90+1’ Chris Durkin (Ola Kamara, Kimarni Smith) - ORL 1, DC 1
The hosts tied things up late as Ola Kamara picked up a pass from Kimarni Smith on the left wing of the Lions’ box. Kamara cut the ball back to a waiting Chris Durkin at the penalty spot. Durkin one-timed it into the top-left corner of the net to level things up.
90+5’ Taxiarchis Fountas (Kimarni Smith, Martín Rodríguez) - DC 2, ORL 1
D.C. United struck just four minutes later as Martín Rodríguez hit a diagonal ball to Kimarni Smith. Smith volleyed the cross over to Taxiarchis Fountas at the penalty spot who also struck it first time to beat goalkeeper Pedro Gallese low at the right post.
Match Notes:
- Júnior Urso scored his fourth goal of the campaign in all competitions.
- Alexandre Pato notched his fifth assist of the year on Urso’s first-half finish.
- Antonio Carlos tallied his 70th appearance for Orlando City in the match.
- Niko Gioacchini earned his first MLS minutes in the match, entering as a second-half substitute in the 69th minute. Goiacchini made his Orlando City debut as a substitute in the Club’s 5-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made no changes to his starting lineup from Wednesday’s historic U.S. Open Cup Semifinal victory.
Next Match: The Lions head back to downtown Orlando for their next matchup, set to host the New England Revolution on Saturday, Aug. 6 in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Exploria Stadium.
