FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (June 17, 2023) – Orlando City SC (7-5-5, 26 points) fell 3-1 to the New England Revolution(9-3-6, 33 points) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, snapping a six-game unbeaten streak for the Lions dating back to May 13.
The match saw Duncan McGuire score his fifth goal of the campaign, with Homegrown defender Mikey Halliday earning the assist on the finish for his second helper of the year in what served as his return to the starting lineup following his run with the U.S. U-20 National Team at the U-20 FIFA World Cup. In addition, midfielder Juninho earned his MLS debut after signing a short-term agreement from Orlando City B earlier this week, entering the game in second half stoppage time.
The side now turns its attention to a midweek meeting with the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, June 21 at Exploria Stadium in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Scoring Summary:
51’ Emmanuel Boateng — NE 1, ORL 0
The Revolution took the lead with Gustavo Bou sending a ball across the face of goal that was denied by goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar towards the center of the area. Emmanuel Boateng was there to collect the rebound, firing a shot with his first touch into the bottom right corner of the net.
69’ Gustavo Bou (Noel Buck, Carles Gil) — NE 2, ORL 0
New England doubled its advantage with Noel Buck finding Gustavo Bou on the right flank, who drove inside to the edge of the area before creating enough space to fire a left-footed shot into the far post.
80’ Duncan McGuire (Mikey Halliday) — NE 2, ORL 1
The Lions halved the deficit with Homegrown defender Mikey Halliday lofting a ball into the area, finding the head of Duncan McGuire for the 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection’s fifth goal of the year.
85’ Carles Gil (Gustavo Bou, Giacomo Vrioni) - NE 3, ORL 1
The home side added an insurance goal late in the match with Carles Gil capitalizing on the counterattack, collecting a pass just outside the box and firing a left-footed strike from distance for the 3-1 final.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“Obviously, frustrating not getting the result but the analysis of the game is clear. I told the boys push and they played a very good half in the second half. The goals were placed, isolated. We could have defended better and that's probably the frustration that we carry right now. We had the chances to score, we had the chances to equalize the game and then, when we were pushing the most and when we were reacting and we were putting New England in their last third, that second goal came. That was frustrating, the same with the third goal. But the effort from the players was very good. I have to say that it has been a very good half, especially in the first half it was probably for either team.”
Match Notes:
- The loss snapped the Lions’ six-game unbeaten run dating back to May 13 in Columbus and served as just their second loss in league play in 2023.
- Duncan McGuire scored his fifth goal of the campaign to tie teammates Facundo Torres and Ercan Kara for the team lead in all competitions.
- Homegrown defender Mikey Halliday tallied his first start since returning from the U-20 World Cup with the U.S. U-20 National Team, tallying an assist for his second helper of the year.
- Juninho made his MLS debut, entering the game in second-half stoppage time after being signed to a short-term agreement earlier in the week.
- Midfielder Favian Loyola was available for selection for the Lions for the first time in his young career, currently on a Homegrown deal with the Club.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made five changes to his starting lineup from the side’s last match, with Halliday, Mason Stajduhar, Rodrigo Schlegel, Felipe Martins and Martín Ojeda all entering the fold.
