ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2026) – Orlando City SC (0-1-0, 0 points) fell 1-2 to Red Bull New York (1-0-0, 3 points) on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions now turn their attention to intrastate rivals Inter Miami CF, which they will host next Sunday, March 1, in the City Beautiful.
The Lions went down 2-0 heading into halftime but cut the deficit in second‑half stoppage time when Iván Angulo slipped a through ball behind the visiting back line to a sprinting Zakaria Taifi. The homegrown defender drove into the box and sent a low cross to Tiago, who tapped it in for his first goal with the club in his Orlando City debut. Taifi and Angulo each recorded their first assists of the 2026 campaign on the play.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau also made his club debut on the night. The Canadian international finished with 11 saves, tying the Lions’ single‑game record for most saves in a regular‑season match, a mark previously set by former homegrown goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar.
Four additional players made their Orlando City debuts in the home opener: defender Griffin Dorsey, acquired via trade from Houston Dynamo FC; defender Iago; and midfielder Braian Ojeda, all of whom earned their first starts for the Lions.
2026 MLS SuperDraft pick Nolan Miller also made his professional debut with Orlando City, entering the match as a halftime substitute.
Scoring Summary:
8’ Julian Hall (Emil Forsberg, Cade Cowell) – RBNY 1, ORL 0
40’ Julian Hall (Adri Mehmeti) – RBNY 2, ORL 0
90+6' Tiago (Zakaria Taifi, Iván Angulo) – RBNY 2, ORL 1
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“On behalf of the players and coaches, we want to share our gratitude with the fans. It was great to see the stadium filled up. The game had two different stories. The first half was probably the worst we have played in our time here in Orlando. No excuses. Red Bull New York played better than us in the first half and we should have contained more balls. In the second half, we changed the dynamics and the attitude. We changed many things: how we covered space, our willingness to attack, along with other details that brought us back into the game. Unfortunately, we couldn't score, but it gave us more chances to equalize. As I said, there were two different sides to the game. The first half was terrible and the second was much better. That gives us the sense that we could have done more, but we also can’t hide from what happened in the first half.”
Match Notes
- Forward Tiago scored his first goal for the club with a stoppage‑time finish after entering as a second‑half substitute.
- Homegrown defender Zakaria Taifi recorded his first assist for the Orlando City first team on Tiago’s goal.
- Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau made his Lions debut and tied the single‑game club record with 11 saves.
- Defenders Griffin Dorsey and Iago, along with midfielder Braian Ojeda, made their first starts for the Lions.
- 2026 MLS SuperDraft selection Nolan Miller made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half.
- The Lions played in front of a sold‑out Wall, with a total stadium attendance of 24,453.
