ORLANDO, Fla. (March 10, 2018) – Orlando City SC (0-1-1, 1 points) fell 2-1 to Minnesota United FC (1-1-0, 3 points) on Saturday night at Orlando City Stadium. Peruvian international Yoshimar Yotún scored his first goal of the season in the match, putting away a penalty attempt late in the first half.
“Obviously we’re very disappointed to lose a game at home, only our second game at home. But we have to continue to draw positives out of the performance, we have to continue to learn about ourselves,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “It’s going to take some time and I think, all-in-all, there were lots of positive performances out there but in the end we just didn’t quite have the quality to score the goals.”
The Loons were the first to get on the board, with Ethan Finlay scoring in the 12th minute assisted by former Lion Kevin Molino.
Orlando equalized in the 42nd minute, benefitting from a Video Review on what was originally deemed a free kick outside of the box. After the review, the Lions were awarded their first penalty kick of the season after it was ruled that contact with Richie Laryea began inside the penalty area.
Yotún stepped to the spot and calmly put the ball away, beating Minnesota goalkeeper Matt Lampson with a shot to the left side.
The Lions came out of the half with continued pressure and had a flurry of chances to go up a goal early in the half. Justin Meram tried to thread the ball inside the near post, but it was barely deflected out for a corner. On the ensuing kick, Will Johnson found Amro Tarek open in the box, but his header attempt was parried off the line by Lampson.
Minnesota went ahead in the 79th minute on Finlay’s second goal of the night.
A goal-line save kept Tarek off the scoresheet again the 90th minute, when Ibson blocked away another corner header effort on the doorstep.
Both teams were affected by in-game injuries, with last week’s hero Stefano Pinho exiting the match in the 28th minute after suffering a right ankle injury. Early in the second half, Molino also went out for Minnesota.
The Lions visit Yankee Stadium for their first road match of the year on Saturday, March 17, against New York City FC. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on Univision. City returns to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday, March 31, when it hosts the New York Red Bulls at 1 p.m.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Match Notes
- Joe Bendik tied Kaká for second most starts in City MLS history (69)
- Orlando City’s penalty goal was its first since Sept. 7, 2016
- Justin Meram tied his personal shots in a game record, seven total, which he previously accomplished vs. Toronto on March 14, 2015
- Meram’s seven shots also ranks second in shots in a match by an Orlando player, tied with Kaká and Cyle Larin who both record the stat in 2015
- Stéfano Pinho made his first MLS start
- Richie Laryea made his second MLS start
- Saturday’s game marked midfielder Cam Lindley’s first professional 90-minute match
- Tony Rocha recorded his first appearance of the 2018 MLS season
Scoring Summary:
MIN - Ethan Finlay (Kevin Molino) 12’
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún (PK) 42’
MIN - Ethan Finlay (Miguel Ibarra, Mason Toye) 79’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Richie Laryea (Yellow Card) 56’
MIN - Rasmus Schuller (Yellow Card) 89’
MIN - Mason Toye (Yellow Card) 90’ +3
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Scott Sutter (RJ Allen 83’), Amro Tarek, ⓒ Jonathan Spector, Mohamed El-Munir, M Cam Lindley, Will Johnson, Richie Laryea (Tony Rocha 67’), Yoshimar Yotún, F Justin Meram, Stéfano Pinho (Chris Mueller 28’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Lamine Sané, Donny Toia, M Cristian Higuita
Minnesota United FC - GK Matt Lampson, D Jerome Thielsson, Tyrone Mears, Francisco Calvo, Michael Boxall, M Ibson, Sam Nicholson (Miguel Ibarra 67’), Ethan Finley, Rasmus Schuller, F Kevin Molino (Collen Warner 50’), Christian Ramirez (Mason Toye 72’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bobby Shuttleworth, D Carter Manley, Brent Kallman, M Collin Martin
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear, Light Rain
Date: March 10, 2018
Attendance: 24,038
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 58.6%
MIN - 42.1%
Shots:
ORL - 19
MIN - 10
Saves:
ORL - 1
MIN - 2
Fouls:
ORL - 9
MIN - 19
Corners:
ORL - 8
MIN - 4
