ORLANDO, Fla. (July 4, 2023) – Orlando City SC (9-5-7, 34 points) routed Toronto FC (3-9-10, 19 points) 4-0 at Exploria Stadium on Tuesday night. The win serves as the Lion second-consecutive win at home and second-consecutive 4-0 win over the Toronto FC. With the win, Head Coach Oscar Pareja became the sixth coach in MLS history to win at least 150 regular season matches.
The Lions saw multiple goals with midfielder César Araújo being the first to find the back of the net this evening. The goal serves as his first goal during regular season play and his third across all competitions. Defender Rafael Santos tallied his second assist of the season, while midfielder Iván Angulo earned his fifth on the Araújo opening goal. Forward Duncan McGuire tallied his seventh goal of the season, maintaining his spot as the leading goal-scorer of the 2023 campaign.
Defender Dagur Dan Thórhallsson tallied his first goal in Purple during the second half of the match after receiving a pass from Araújo from the Lions’ defensive third. Araújo picked up his fifth helper in the second half of the match on Thórhallsson’s finish.
Forward Ercan Kara finished the scoring for the Lions during the second half of the match extending the lead to 4-0. Kara tallied his sixth goal across all competitions, while Martin Ojeda recorded his eighth assist of the season on Kara’s goal.
Scoring Summary:
16’ César Araújo (Rafael Santos, Iván Angulo) – ORL 1, TOR 0
The Lions opened up the scoring on the night with Iván Angulo playing Rafael Santos down the Reds’ left wing for Santos to hit a curling cross across the box. The pass flew over everyone to César Araújo at the far post, who powered a header past Greg Ranjitsingh for the opener.
22’ Duncan McGuire – ORL 2, TOR 0
City doubled its advantage after Rafael Santos received the ball down Toronto’s right side, with a cross taking a deflection but finding Duncan McGuire inside the six-yard box. McGuire added the final touch as he pushed the ball into the goal past Toronto’s goalkeeper.
77’ Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (César Araújo) –ORL 3, TOR 0
Dagur Dan Thórhallsson added insurance to the Lions win after receiving a pass from César Araújo in the Lions’ defensive third. Thórhallsson dribbled the ball past the goalkeeper and then easily kicked the ball into a wide-open net.
89’ Ercan Kara (Martín Ojeda) – ORL 4, TOR 0
The Lions finished off the night with Martín Ojeda battling for the ball in the box and then able to backheel the ball into the path of Ercan Kara, who made no mistake with the finish and smashed a shot into the back of the net.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
"The boys are happy. They are very pleased with their performance. I think it was one of our most responsible performances. The respect for the game that they showed today was very good. I am very pleased with it. Even when the game turns into the game that it was headed, they played very inspired and that is why they scored the goals. It is good sensations, and it is still our responsibility to perform in front of our fans. Congratulations to them and this is a special day for America. We are very proud to belong to the community, to the fans, and to this country that has provided us all the opportunity to work. Enjoy today and we are very happy today.”
Match Notes:
- Duncan McGuire put his seventh goal of the season into the net on Tuesday night, tying him once again with midfielder Facundo Torres for the team lead on the year.
- César Araújo tallied his first goal of the 2023 season on the night and his third all-time as a Lion across all competitions. He also collected his fourth assist of the season supplying the helper on the Lions’ third goal.
- Dagur Dan Thórhallsson’s goal is the first he has scored while donning a City kit.
- Ercan Kara found the back of the net on the night, which was good for his sixth goal of the season across all competitions.
- With the primary assist on César Araújo’s opening goal, Rafael Santos has now assisted on a goal in two-consecutive matches, Tuesday’s served as his second in purple.
- Iván Angulo provided the secondary helper on the Araújo goal, his fifth of 2023 and his eighth as a Lion.
- Martín Ojeda added to his team leading assist number earning his eighth assist of the season.
- Orlando City featured four different goal scorers for the first time since October 28, 2020, a 4-1 win over rival Atlanta United.
- With the victory, Head Coach Oscar Pareja became the sixth coach in MLS history to win at least 150 regular season matches
- Pareja made two changes to his starting lineup since his side’s last game against Chicago Fire FC with César Araújo and Antonio Carlos both getting the start on the night.
