ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2025) – A shorthanded Orlando City SC (14-8-11, 53 points) suffered a late 2-1 defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (18-6-9, 63 points) on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium, courtesy of a dramatic stoppage-time goal. Despite the loss, the Lions remain seventh in the Eastern Conference, with next Saturday’s Decision Day finale at Toronto FC set to determine their final playoff seeding.
Despite missing seven players due to international duty, the Lions took the lead in the 24th minute after defender Dagur Dan Thórhallsson finished an Orlando City counterattack. The 25-year-old received a chest pass from forward Duncan McGuire just inside the box and calmly slotted a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. Midfielder Martín Ojeda earned the secondary assist with a looping cross that set up McGuire’s pass.
Vancouver responded with two second-half goals. Forward Nelson Pierre netted the equalizer in the 81st minute, capitalizing on a rebound off the inside of the left post that landed at his feet just outside the six-yard box.
In the dying moments of second-half stoppage time, German international Thomas Müller sealed the win for the Whitecaps. The World Cup winner curled a left-footed shot from just beyond the 18-yard box into the bottom right corner, securing all three points for the visitors.
Scoring Summary:
24’ Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (Duncan McGuire, Martín Ojeda) – ORL 1, VAN 0
81’ Nelson Pierre – ORL 1, VAN 1
90+7’ Thomas Müller (Ryan Gauld) – VAN 2, ORL 1
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“Very disappointed with all this adversity, especially that we keep losing players at this point in the season. Also, our response, particularly in the second half, where I think we could have been better. We played against a rival who, especially in that half, put a lot of people between the lines, and we couldn’t manage it. If we had sustained possession a little longer, we could have had at least some initiatives. That was a big part of the difference in the game. We couldn’t get out of that domination that [Vancouver Whitecaps] had in the second half, and that cost us. We may be sad about conceding in the final moments of the game, but it’s not just that, it’s the whole thing. I think in the second half we could have been better, and they were better than us in that half. In the first half, it was much more of a game that could go either way, but we couldn’t sustain it in the second half.”
Match Notes
- Dagur Dan Thórhallsson scored his third goal of the 2025 MLS regular season and fourth across all competitions, finding the net in the 24th minute. The goal marked his seventh career MLS tally and eighth overall in all competitions.
- Forward Duncan McGuire recorded his second assist of the 2025 season, setting up Thórhallsson’s goal with a well-placed chest pass inside the box.
- Midfielder Martín Ojeda earned the secondary assist on the opening goal, bringing his total to 15 regular-season assists and 19 across all competitions in 2025. He is now just one assist away from becoming the first player in Orlando City history to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in a single campaign across all competitions.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made four changes to the Starting XI from the previous match against Columbus Crew, reintroducing Nico Rodríguez, Rodrigo Schlegel, Kyle Smith, and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson to the lineup.
