FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Sept. 25, 2021) - Orlando City SC (10-8-8, 38 points) was defeated on the road, 2-1, by Major League Soccer leader New England Revolution (19-4-5, 62 points) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. The Lions will now face a quick turnaround, as the team heads to Music City on Wednesday for a midweek match at Nashville SC.
Daryl Dike scored the Lions' goal in the match, his fourth of the season, off an assist from Mauricio Pereyra. With the helper, Pereyra recorded his 10th of the year to become the fourth Lions player to record a double-digit assist campaign, while also boosting his career total to 22 which ties him for second all-time in Club history.
Sebastián Méndez made his return to the Lions’ lineup for the first time since July 7 at Chicago, starting for City in the match.
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Head Coach Oscar Pareja:*
“It is painful to say that after playing a good game we’re still leaving with the disappointment of not getting a result. I thought we came here to New England against a team who has a lot of confidence. We came here to fight...we know how dangerous they [New England] were. But we did not come here to put eight or nine players behind [the ball]. We wanted to come and fight our game. The game gave us the chance to equalize and probably, after that, would [have been] much more. But we ended up with this frustration that we have to deal with. Players showed a lot of character and that’s something that’s very valuable today. You all know the responsibility of the results is carried on the coaches’ shoulders and that’s something that I want today, more than any other night, to happen. The players did a good job, they played their games and they deserved more. But we have to keep going.”
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Scoring Recap:
*9’ Adam Buksa (Gustavo Bou) - NE 1, ORL 0
The home side took the lead early on with Gustavo Bou sending a bending cross in from the left side that teammate Adam Buksa was able to volley into the net from close range.
18’ Daryl Dike (Mauricio Pereyra) - ORL 1, NE 1
The Lions responded just nine minutes later, after Mauricio Pereyra threaded a ball into the box to Daryl Dike. The forward used his size to fend off the Revolution defender before powering a shot past USMNT teammate Matt Turner.
36’ Rodrigo Schlegel (Own Goal) - NE 2, ORL 1
Before the first half whistle, the Revs got a second on the board after an own goal from Rodrigo Schlegel in what would prove to be the game-winner.
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Match Notes:*
- Daryl Dike netted his fourth goal of the campaign in the match, now with 12 goals in his MLS career.
- Mauricio Pereyra tallied his 10th assist of the calendar year on the night, extending his team-high and becoming the fourth player in Club history to record a double-digit assist season (Kaká 10, 2016; Yoshimar Yotún 10, 2018; Nani 10, 2019). Pereyra now sits tied for second in Club history in assists at 22 with former Lions’ captain Kaká and teammate Chris Mueller.
- Mauricio Pereyra and Andrés Perea each tallied their 50th appearances for the Lions on the night across all competitions.
- Sebastián Méndez made his return to the Lions’ lineup for the first time since July 7 at Chicago, starting for City in the match.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made four changes to his starting lineup in the match, with João Moutinho, Sebastián Méndez, Andrés Perea and Daryl Dike all reentering the fold for the side.
Next Match: City heads back out on the road for a match against Nashville SC on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at Nissan Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
