1. Anyone else tired? A three-hour-plus weather delay couldn't stop the hottest offense in MLS as Orlando City SC weathered the storm (literally and figuratively), pulling out a solid 3-1 win at Inter&Co Stadium.
2. The night started as any other, with the Lions getting set to take the field for warmups. But just as Pedro Gallese was heading onto the pitch, he was forced to do a 180, heading back to the locker room after lightning struck just a few miles from Inter&Co Stadium. From that point, the rain started to drench the venue, lasting almost two hours straight. From an original 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, the game didn't fully get underway until 10:43 p.m.
3. By 10:45 p.m., Orlando was already in the lead. It only took newly acquired winger Tyrese Spicer one minute and 10 seconds to make his mark in his first start, scoring his first goal right in front of The Wall. After a crafty stepover, the Trinidad & Tobago man played MartÃn Ojeda in on goal, which forced the Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper off his line. As the keeper blocked Ojeda's shot away, the ball fell right back to Spicer, who stared at an open goal. He caught the ball on the bounce, sending the fans that stuck around through hours of rain into a rapturous roar.
4. With that goal from Spicer, he now holds the Orlando City record for the fastest player for the Lions to score in their first MLS start with the Club. Daryl Dike held the previous record, scoring 18 minutes into his first start against Inter Miami back in 2020.
5. The lead was unfortunately squandered 20 minutes later as Sporting Kansas City equalized through Dejan Jovelijic. It was a bit of a miscue between Rodrigo Schlegel, who was tracking Mason Toye's run into the box, and Pedro Gallese. Gallese came out to make the stop, which cut Schlegel off as he was running to make the tackle. Both players wound up out of position and SKC was able to capitalize. It's simple miscues that have plagued Orlando's staunch defense over this run, which hasn't seen them get a shutout in league play since June 14 against Colorado.
6. Thankfully for Orlando's sake, the subsitutes that came in during the second half were game-changers. Iván Angulo and Ramiro Enrique played a part in the second goal, with Angulo driving towards the box off a stolen ball in the 76th minute. He then layed it off to Ojeda, who played a square ball to Enrique in the box. A quick settling touch and a turn of direction allowed Ramiro to get on his left foot and blast home what would end up being the game-winner.
7. The assist from Ojeda would continue the unprecedented streak of goal contributions, tying him with Sebastian Giovinco's mark from 2018, with 12 straight league matches with a goal or assist. He is now three behind the all-time leader, Josef Martinez, who set the mark in 2019 with Atlanta.
8. The night of firsts was capped off with a first MLS goal for Nico Rodriguez, who opened his account in the 83rd minute of the match. Ojeda, once again distributing, chipped a ball into the box for Alex Freeman to settle. After cutting on his left, the fullback had his shot blocked, but it fell right to the waiting Rodriguez to settle and tap home.
9. Scoring that final goal also marked the 10th match this year that the Lions have scored three or more goals in a game. It's tied for the most in MLS alongside Inter Miami, who scored three goals on Saturday against LA Galaxy.
10. The Lions now look towards a tough week ahead, with the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals in front of them. The Lions will fly out to Los Angeles to take on Liga MX side Toluca on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 9 p.m. ET from Dignity Health Sports Park before heading to Nashville for the weekend.
