ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 12, 2026) – Orlando City SC (1-1-1, 5 points) played Liga MX side Atlético de San Luis (0-2-1, 1 point) to a 2-2 draw Wednesday night at Inter.co Stadium in the Lions' final Phase One match of Leagues Cup 2026. Orlando earned the extra point after winning the ensuing penalty-kick shootout 5-3.
The home side opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Wilder Cartagena sent a cross to the far post for Tiago, whose header was initially saved by San Luis goalkeeper Manuel Lajud. Forward Daryl Dike pounced on the rebound, scoring his first goal since returning to Central Florida and his 20th all-time for the Lions across all competitions.
Homegrown Justin Ellis doubled the Lions’ advantage in the 69th minute, 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. Tiago found Ellis in the middle of the box for a header that slipped past the goalkeeper at the near post. San Luis then struck twice to level the match, scoring in the 79th minute and the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to send it to a penalty-kick shootout.
Orlando converted all five of their penalties, while goalkeeper Javier Otero made one save in the shootout to secure the extra point.
The result keeps the Lions from advancing to Leagues Cup’s knockout round for the first time since the tournament format launched in 2023. Orlando City returns to Major League Soccer action on Saturday, Aug. 15, against FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV).
Scoring Summary:
31’ Daryl Dike – ORL 1, ASL 0
69’ Justin Ellis (Tiago) – ORL 2, ASL 0
79’ Sebastián Pérez Bouquet – ORL 2, ASL 1
90+7’ David Rodríguez – ORL 2, ASL 2
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“Yes, it was a good game. Of course, we always want to win it. We were close. We couldn’t close it and we don’t like that, but then in the penalties, we were able to win it. I think it’s important for us in terms of minutes for the players. It was our goal to have the full roster able to compete, and I think today the guys performed. And we faced a good team as well, and it was a tough game. It was a competitive game. Now we’re thinking on the next one.”
Forward Justin Ellis:
“Yeah, I mean, I hate losing. I hate being knocked out, like anything. But we have to take the positives and move forward. We have a big game on Saturday, focusing on that. But, I mean, it was good. I think we took good steps, though, as a group. And we also used our full roster, which I think is so important, giving people their chances that haven’t come on so often. I think it’s really important, and I think we saw, like Gustavo [Caraballo] today; he performed so good. He has a big future. Like other people, like [Colin] Guske. I know I’m missing a lot, but I think it’s good. It was a good opportunity for everybody to see that we do have good depth and we can use anybody on our roster. That was a good takeaway from Leagues Cup.”
Match Notes
- Forward Daryl Dike made his first start for the Lions since returning to Central Florida. His last start for Orlando was in 2021 before his transfer to West Bromwich Albion FC.
- Dike scored his first goal of the year and his 20th all-time for the Lions across all competitions. The Oklahoma native is one goal shy of tying former Lion Tesho Akindele for 10th in club history.
- Homegrown Justin Ellis scored his third goal for the Lions and recorded his ninth goal contribution across all competitions.
- Forward Tiago provided the assist on Ellis’ goal, his fifth across all competitions as a Lion.
- Orlando City B midfielder Issah Haruna made his first-team debut. The Lions selected Haruna with the 20th overall pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft.
- Designated Player Antoine Griezmann wore the captain’s armband for the Lions for the first time after entering as a second-half substitute.
- Midfielder Colin Guske returned to action for Orlando after his stint with the United States Men’s U-20 National Team at the Concacaf U-20 Championship.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made seven changes to his starting lineup from the club’s previous match against Club León, inserting Daryl Dike, Ignacio Gomez, Colin Guske, Adrián Marín, Javier Otero, Harvey Sarajian and Tiago into the starting XI.
- Defender Nolan Miller (knee) and midfielders Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Braian Ojeda (foot) and Martín Ojeda (thigh) missed the match because of injury.
