ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 26, 2020) - Orlando City SC (3-2-2, 11 points) earned a 3-1 victory over Nashville SC on Wednesday night at Exploria Stadium in its first match in The City Beautiful since its Feb. 29 season opener. The match also saw fans return to Exploria Stadium at a reduced and socially-distanced capacity.
Daryl Dike netted his first professional brace in the match, including the eventual game-winner in the 52nd minute. With that, he became the first rookie in Club history to score in each of his first two professional starts after scoring his first MLS goal last week at Inter Miami, now with three goals in Orlando Cityās last two matches.
Chris Mueller opened the Lionsā account on the night, leveling the two sides in the 21st minute for his fifth finish of the season, a team-high that ties him for second in MLS.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
āFirst of all, we understand that these are difficult times and obviously it gave us the joy today to get three points, to win, to play again in front of some fans. It was hard for us to not have them all, but at the same time to see that we have this possibility to play in front of some and we respect that. The three points are a development of the game with an idea of playing that we have been consistent in trying to respect the ball and to always have the initiative of the game, but we found a good opposition with Nashville. We loved to see Daryl [Dike] scoring today, many things happened today that pleased us.ā
Scoring Recap:
16ā Dave Romney (Hany Mukhtar) - NSH 1, ORL 0
The visitors took the early lead after a free kick from Hany Mukhtar found the head of Dave Romney in the center of the area for the finish.
21ā Chris Mueller (JoĆ£o Moutinho, Mauricio Pereyra) - ORL 1, NSH 1
City leveled just five minutes later, with JoĆ£o Moutinho cutting past his defender before going back to his left foot to whip a ball across the box, finding the head of a lying Chris Mueller at the back post, who hit it home to even the two sides once more.
52ā Daryl Dike (Mauricio Pereyra, Chris Mueller) - ORL 2, NSH 1
The Lions took the lead after Chris Mueller played a through ball to Mauricio Pereyra, who hit a first-time pass across the face of goal to a running Daryl Dike. The 2020 MLS SuperDraft selection hammered it first time past Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis for his second goal in as many matches.
71ā Daryl Dike - ORL 3, NSH 1
The rookie netted his second of the night in a play that started with a cross from Ruan from the right side, finding the head of JĆŗnior Urso in the box. Ursoās attempt was saved by Willis, but Dike was there for the rebound to secure his first professional brace.
Match Notes:
- Daryl Dike netted his first professional brace in the match, now with three goals in the Lionsā last two games, becoming the first rookie in Club history to score in each of his first two professional starts.
- Chris Mueller scored his fifth goal of the season in the match to extend his team lead and recorded his second assist in as many contests.
- Mauricio Pereyra registered the first multi-assist performance for the Lions this season, earning a secondary assist on Muellerās goal in the 21st minute before sliding the ball across to Daryl Dike for his 52nd minute goal.
- JoĆ£o Moutinho registered his second assist of the season with his cross to Mueller in the 21st minute, tying Nani, Mueller and Pereyra for a team high.
- Daryl Dike and Rodrigo Schlegel each recorded their first starts at Exploria Stadium since joining the Club ahead of the 2020 campaign.
- Kamal Miller made his first appearance of the season, entering the match in the 85th minute for JoĆ£o Moutinho.
- The match served as the first at Exploria Stadium since Orlando Cityās 2020 MLS opener on Feb. 29, as well as the first time the team has played in front of fans since the suspension of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Wednesdayās match served as the Lionsā first against Nashville SC, with the Music City-based side joining Major League Soccer this year.
- Next Match: The Lions will head back out on the road for their next two matches, facing a quick turnaround at Atlanta United on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium before taking their first trip to Nashville on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Scoring Summary:
NSH - Dave Romney (Hany Mukhtar) 16ā
ORL - Chris Mueller (JoĆ£o Moutinho, Mauricio Pereyra) 21ā
ORL - Daryl Dike (Mauricio Pereyra, Chris Mueller) 52ā
ORL - Daryl Dike 71ā
Misconduct Summary:
NSH - Jalil Anibaba (Yellow Card) 43ā
ORL - JoĆ£o Moutinho (Yellow Card) 44ā
ORL - Benji Michell (Yellow Card) 83ā
NSH - Alistair Johnston (Yellow Card) 90+5ā
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Pedro Gallese; D JoĆ£o Moutinho (Kamal Miller 85ā), Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Ruan; M Chris Mueller (Kyle Smith 85ā), SebastiĆ”n MĆ©ndez (JĆŗnior Urso 66ā), Uri Rosell (AndrĆ©s Perea 66ā), Mauricio Pereyra (Benji Michel 78ā); F Daryl Dike, Nani Ā©
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brian Rowe; D Alex De John; M Jordan Bender, Robinho
Nashville SC - GK Joe Willis; D Jalil Anibaba (Alistair Johnston 46ā), Dave Romney, Walker Zimmerman, Daniel Lovitz; M Randall Leal, AnĆbal Godoy (David Accam 77ā), Dax McCarty Ā©, Hany Mukhtar (Derrick Jones 64ā); F Daniel RĆos (Alex Muyl 65ā), Abu Danladi (Dominique Badji 65ā)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Elliot Panicco; D Brayan Beckeles; M Matt LaGrassa, Brian Anunga
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: August 26, 2020
Attendance: 3,003
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 61.1%
NSH - 38.9%
Shots:
ORL - 17
NSH - 16
Saves:
ORL - 3
NSH - 5
Fouls:
ORL - 12
NSH - 8
Corners:
ORL - 5
NSH - 4
Heineken Star of the Match: Daryl Dike