1. A new era, a new coach and a first win of 2026. Orlando City SC finally got off the schneid on Saturday night as they pulled out a 2-1 win at Inter&Co Stadium.
2. Welcome to the Martín Perelman era. After longtime Head Coach Oscar Pareja mutually parted ways with the Club earlier in the week, the former Orlando City B head coach and City assistant for the past two years was named as the interim manager. The Lions came out of the gates flying, getting two goals in the first half. Perelman has talked about wanting to play more offensive and that was on display in the first 45 minutes.
3. That first goal was a big one for many reasons, and it came courtesy of Duncan McGuire. As Marco Pašalić cut inside from the right in the 18th minute, he took a shot, which deflected against two Montréal defenders and fell to Iván Angulo in the box. Rounding the defender in front of him, Angulo took a shot that deflected off the post and right to McGuire, who tapped it into an open goal.
4. That goal from McGuire marked his 31st for Orlando, tying former captain Nani for fourth all-time in Orlando City history. Coming in his 101st match with the Lions, it was a much-needed and much-deserved goal for the forward.
5. Montréal managed to pull one back off a set piece through Prince Owusu, who has been a thorn in Orlando's side since his days in Toronto. After getting position in the box, he headed the ball into the back of the net. The goal also brings to attention the defensive positioning for the Lions on set pieces, especially with teams that have an ariel threat like Owusu in the box.
6. The Lions managed to get the lead back seven minutes later, thanks to some great team interplay. The play started all the way in the back with goalkeeper Javier Otero, as the ball worked its way up the pitch to Angulo. After a feint to his left, he sent his defender the other way and created space down the wing. Trying to find McGuire ahead of him, the pass was broken up, but luckily fell right back to Angulo on the run. Some quick passes between Angulo and Pašalić got the Colombian into the box. Rather than shooting, he made a one-time pass to Martín Ojeda centrally to finish off the play. All in all, 18 seconds of building from the back led to a goal this team can build on.
7. All the games so far this season for the Lions have been a tale of two halves. This one was no different. After a good offensive half for the Lions, they followed it up with a very solid defensive second half, holding on to the result. If anything, this performance defensively was much needed after the last three games.
8. A big shoutout to Angulo is deserved after this one. The winger, who ended up with the captain's armband late in the match, played the full 90 minutes, covering almost seven miles of ground over the course of the game. He was important on both ends of the pitch, assisting on Ojeda's goal and tracking back to help defensively. McGuire even said after the match that he was glad that Iván was on his team because of his incredible work rate.
9. As the final whistle blew, four Homegrown players who came up from the Academy were on to help see the game out. Many of those players were coached by Perelman, who started with Orlando City B in 2022. After the game, Perelman said, "We know all of them, they are ready to play. If they have the Orlando City jersey, and they wear that badge on the field, they're ready to play."
10. The Lions now have one more match to play before an international break as they'll head to Nashville on Saturday, March 21, with kickoff set for 6:15 p.m. on FS1 and Apple TV.
