CHESTER, Pa. (May 11, 2024) – Orlando City SC (3-5-3, 12 points) won a 3-2 thriller over the Philadelphia Union (3-3-5, 14 points) on Saturday night at Subaru Park. The Lions were backed by a brace and an assist from designated player Luis Muriel, which served as his first goals and assist of the 2024 campaign.
Midfielder Nico Lodeiro picked up an assist on all three of the Lions’ goals on the evening, marking the third time in Club history that a player tallied three helpers.
Forward Duncan McGuire recorded his sixth goal across all competitions in the 2024 campaign helping City get on the board to level the match. Muriel scored his first of two goals on the night before the stroke of halftime with a banger of a goal with his left foot.
Just seconds into the second half, Muriel found his second goal of the night which served as the game winning goal for the Lions. The brace counts as the second brace scored by a Lions player this season, with the first coming from McGuire against Minnesota United FC.
The Union had an opportunity to level the match in second-half stoppage time, but Pedro Gallese made the stop on Daniel Gazdag’s attempt, securing his 50th win between the sticks in regular season history.
The Lions will return home to INTER&Co Stadium next to host intrastate foes Inter Miami CF this Wednesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
12’ Mikael Uhre (Nathan Harriel, Jack McGlynn) – PHI 1, ORL 0
The hosts opened the scoring on the night just 12 minutes into the game when the Union collected the rebound from an attacking corner kick. The ball was fed to Nathan Harriel by Jack McGlynn at the top of the box, who passed to Mikael Uhre for the goal.
21’ Duncan McGuire (Nico Lodeiro, Luis Muriel) – ORL 1, PHI 1
The Lions leveled things up with the Union less than 10 minutes later when Nico Lodeiro took a quick throw into Luis Muriel on the left wing. Muriel fed Lodeiro to the endline who fired in a cross to a waiting Duncan McGuire. McGuire headed the cross into the ground and past goalkeeper Oliver Semmle.
41’ Luis Muriel (Nico Lodeiro) – ORL 2, PHI 1
The Lions then added another to take the lead just before the end of the first half, with Iván Angulo picking off a back pass from José Martínez. Angulo passed back to Lodeiro who fed Luis Muriel at the top of the box. Muriel fired a shot from outside the box into the top left corner of the net for his first goal for Orlando City.
46’ Luis Muriel (Nico Lodeiro) – ORL 3, PHI 1
Orlando City started the second half on the front foot, with Nico Lodeiro playing a through ball to Luis Muriel to break the Union’s defensive line. Muriel carried the ball forward into the box and calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper for his brace.
66’ Daniel Gazdag (Penalty Kick) – ORL 3, PHI 2
The Union were able to get one back in the 66th minute after being awarded a penalty kick following video review. Daniel Gazdag stepped up and sent it down the middle for the goal.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“First, congratulations to the players for such an effort today. The bravery that they had and the cooperation that they showed to each other during the game was exceptional. It’s [Philadelphia is] a very difficult place to come and win, but we’re proud. We played a really good first half, we created many chances and it’s great for us as well that Luis [Muriel] started scoring, so many things happened and we’ll keep going. The journey is long.”
Match Notes
- Forward Duncan McGuire scored his sixth goal across all competitions and his 21st overall to tie Tesho Akindele for seventh on the Club’s all-time scoring chart.
- Forward Luis Muriel scored his first goal for Orlando City since joining the Lions from Atalanta in Serie A, following it up with a brace overall on the night.
- Muriel’s second goal marked the fastest second half goal in Lions’ history.
- Midfielder Nico Lodeiro provided his fifth, sixth and seventh assists for the Lions, earning the primary assist on all three of Orlando City’s goals on the night. It marked the third time in Club history one player totaled three assists.
- The Lions win at Subaru Park was their second in as many trips to Chester, picking up a 2-1 win last season.
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made four saves in the match, including a save on an 88th-minute penalty kick, to record his 50th regular-season win for Orlando City.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made three changes to his starting lineup from his side’s last match against CF Montréal, with David Brekalo, Nico Lodeiro and Luis Muriel all returning to the Starting XI.
