CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 31, 2026) — Orlando City SC (12-14-7, 43 points) suffered a 4-0 defeat to Charlotte FC (15-10-8, 53 points) on Saturday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte got on the board first after the Lions conceded a free kick just outside the left edge of the box. Ashley Westwood took the free kick, sending a cross towards the back post where Henry Kessler got his head on the ball and sent it in for the opener and only goal in the first half.
The hosts doubled their advantage just four minutes into the second half as Harry Toffolo played Allan Saint-Maximin into space in the final third. The Frenchman dribbled past a few defenders before letting loose a shot into the lower left corner for Charlotte’s second of the day.
With Orlando pushing to cut the deficit, Charlotte added a third goal against the run of play after earning a penalty kick. Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau saved the initial attempt from Saint-Maximin, but Abdoulaye Doucoure capitalized on the rebound to make it 3-0 in the 84th minute.
Charlotte added a fourth from another counter when an unmarked Rodolfo Aloko volleyed home Tyger Smalls’ cross from the left wing in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Orlando City will look to clinch a seventh-consecutive postseason appearance as it hosts the New England Revolution on Decision Day at Inter.co Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 7 (4 p.m. ET | Apple TV) in its final game of the 2026 MLS regular season.
Scoring Summary:
6’ Henry Kessler (Ashley Westwood) – CLT 1, ORL 0
49’ Allan Saint-Maximin (Harry Toffolo, Kristijan Kahlina) – CLT 2, ORL 0
84’ Abdoulaye Doucoure – CLT 3, ORL 0
90+4’ Rodolfo Aloko (Tyger Smalls, Pep Biel) – CLT 4, ORL 0
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“Very disappointed with the result at this moment. I think the game is opened by a free kick [that’s] a mistake that we shouldn’t commit when we play this type of games at this stage on the road against these opponents... think we had control of the ball at moments, then by moments, the first half was like that. I think at the end of the first half, we hurt them a little bit through the sides, which is what we wanted. I don’t think we did anything in the best way we could, but we tried to adjust for the second half. And then the second half, again, it’s opened by a sequence that is very difficult and then the game is hard and we couldn’t perform as we should. Other than that, we know that it’s not easy. We know how to see the big picture. We don’t like this result. It’s not the way we want, but for sure as we did in the past, we will recover and prepare for the next one because this team started the season in a really difficult situation, went through very difficult moments and was very resilient, so this is not going to be the exception for us and we’re going to be ready for the next one.”
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau:
“We know what’s happening at the moment; we need to win against New England. That being said, today is not acceptable for every player that got rostered. It’s not good enough. A lot of people deserve better than what we have put out there today. That’s the reality of things. We will roll up the sleeves and work hard this week because at the end of the day, the season is on the line on Saturday. We could’ve punched our ticket earlier, but the reality is at this time is that it’s happening on Decision Day. So, what I can say at this moment, obviously, it’s difficult after the game that just finished, but it’s that it was nowhere near, it was nowhere near—look, a lot of people deserve better and now it’s time for us to answer the bell on next Saturday.”
Match Notes
- Saturday’s match marked the first time Orlando City has been held scoreless in 26 matches across all competitions, a streak dating back to May.
- Defenders Griffin Dorsey (back) and Robin Jansson (foot) and forwards Tyrese Spicer (foot) missed the match due to injuries, while defender David Brekalo served a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made two changes to the starting lineup from the previous match against Chicago Fire FC, bringing in Wilder Cartagena and Marco Pašalić.
