ORLANDO, Fla. (July 16, 2025) – Orlando City SC (9-6-8, 35 points) suffered a 2-1 loss to New York City FC (10-8-4, 34 points) on Wednesday night at Inter&Co Stadium.
Captain and defender Robin Jansson opened the scoring in the 36th minute, netting his first goal of the season to give the Lions an early lead. Midfielder Martín Ojeda earned a secondary assist on the play, becoming just the second player in club history to record double-digit goals (10) and assists (10) in a single MLS season, as well as extending his club-record streak to eight consecutive matches with a goal contribution.
The tide turned in the 87th minute when a chaotic sequence in front of goal led to an own goal. After a save by goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, Rodrigo Schlegel’s clearance attempt deflected off teammate Kyle Smith and into the net, leveling the score.
Just minutes later, NYCFC completed the comeback. In the first minute of stoppage time, Alonso Martínez finished a pass from Julián Fernández, slipping past the Orlando defense on a counterattack to make it 2-1.
Orlando City will look to bounce back this Saturday, July 19, when they travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to face the New England Revolution. Kickoff at Gillette Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Scoring Summary:
36’ Robin Jansson (David Brekalo, Martín Ojeda) – ORL 1, NYC 0
87’ Kyle Smith (Own Goal) – ORL 1, NYC 1
90+1’ Alonso Martinez (Julián Fernández) – NYC 2, ORL 1
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“I think it's very obvious that I cannot talk about many of the good things that the boys presented throughout the game today because the final just shows us one more time that we are not a team that can close out games. It’s such a frustration that at this point, we highlight the negativity and the feeling that the game slipped from our hands again. I said to the players what I want to say to you as their coach: we have to respond. The players did a bunch of good things, but I don't want to point out anything from them. I’m responsible for the performance of the group, and today we are still not finishing the games, and we need to fix that.”
Match Notes
- Captain Robin Jansson opened his 2025 MLS scoring account with his first goal of the season, marking the sixth regular-season goal of his career.
- Defender David Brekalo, making his 50th all-time appearance for the Lions, notched his third assist of the season on Jansson’s goal.
- Martín Ojeda picked up the secondary assist on the play, becoming just the second player in club history to record double-digit goals (10) and assists (10) in a single MLS season. He joins former captain Nani, who achieved the feat in 2019. Ojeda now ranks fourth in MLS with 20 total goal contributions this season.
- Ojeda’s assist also extended his club-record streak to eight consecutive MLS matches with a goal contribution.
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made three saves on the night, surpassing 500 saves across all competitions in his Orlando City career. His all-time total now stands at 501.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made three changes to the starting XI from the previous match against CF Montréal, reintroducing Iván Angulo, Pedro Gallese, and Robin Jansson to the lineup.
