CHARLOTTE (June 19, 2024) – Orlando City SC (4-8-6, 18 points) played to a 2-2 result against Charlotte FC (8-6-5, 29 points) on Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium, earning a point on the road. The Lions were paced by goals from Duncan McGuire and Facundo Torres, with the former’s score tying him for sixth all-time on the Club’s goal scoring list.
The Lions battled back from one-goal deficits twice in the match, after the home side jumped out to an early lead before picking up a red card minutes before the end of the first half. Up a man, Orlando City was able to level things on McGuire’s goal in the second half, with Torres eventually doing the same later in the game. Torres also earned the assist on McGuire’s goal, alongside a secondary assist for Luis Muriel.
The Lions will return home to INTER&Co Stadium next to host Chicago Fire FC on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV this Saturday, June 22, with kick off set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be part of the organization’s “Pride in our City” weekend, with Orlando City the second match of a Friday-Saturday doubleheader for the Club’s two teams.
Scoring Summary:
12’ Kerwin Vargas – CLT 1, ORL 0
The hosts opened things up early against the run of play, after a centering ball caused a miscommunication between midfielders Iván Angulo and Felipe. Felipe attempted a sliding clearance that fell to the feet of Kerwin Vargas at the far post, who buried it for the opener.
63’ Duncan McGuire (Facundo Torres, Luis Muriel) – ORL 1, CLT 1
The Lions tied things up almost 20 minutes into the second half when Luis Muriel sent a cross to the far post where Facundo Torres was waiting. Torres headed the ball back across the six-yard box where a darting Duncan McGuire poked it in for the equalizer.
77’ Brandt Bronico (Patrick Agyemang) – CLT 2, ORL 1
The home side pulled ahead in the second half, catching the Lions on the counterattack. Charlotte took advantage of a two-on-one, with Bronico eventually catching Mason Stajduhar off his line to chip in the goal.
81’ Facundo Torres (Nico Lodeiro) – ORL 2, CLT 2
The Charlotte FC lead didn’t last long, with Facundo Torres leveling things off a corner from Nico Lodeiro. The Uruguayans connected with under 10 minutes left in the match, with Lodeiro sending a lofting ball in from the left side that went over the head of all Charlotte defenders, falling to Torres who made no mistake with his left foot.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“A very rare game in the fact that that, too early, we get one extra player and Charlotte found a way to score a second goal in the moment that we were pushing the most (for a goal). Those circumstances make us feel that getting these results at some point it's going to help us. It’s obvious that we wanted and made a lot of efforts to win the game but Charlotte found a second goal and it could have been worse. So, humbly, today we take that point. We wanted more but we have some positive things still that we have to grab there and just move on to the next game.”
Match Notes:
- Duncan McGuire scored his seventh goal of the season for the Lions across all competitions and his 22nd all-time, tying Chris Mueller for sixth on the Lions’ all-time chart.
- Forwards Facundo Torres and Luis Muriel provided their third and fourth helpers of the season respectively across all competitions. The assist also counted as Torres’ 19th all-time.
- Wednesday’s match was the first time in 2024 MLS action that the Lions played with a man advantage in the match after Charlotte’s Scott Arfield received a red card in the 38th minute.
- Goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar made his third start of the 2024 season in the match and his 20th all-time across all competitions.
- Iván Angulo made his 75th appearance across all competitions with the start.
- Entering as a second-half substitute, Homegrown Alex Freeman made his second-ever MLS appearance and first since April 29, 2023
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made one change to his starting lineup from his side’s last match against LAFC, with Felipe returning to the Starting XI.
