ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 24, 2024) – Orlando City SC (0-0-1) drew CF Montréal (0-0-1) 0-0 on Saturday night at INTER&Co Stadium, kicking off its historic 10th season in Major League Soccer. With the draw, the Lions remain undefeated across all home openers in Club history, posting a 3-0-7 record since 2015.
The opening match of the 2024 MLS regular season saw two offseason acquisitions make debuts, with defender David Brekalo making his overall Club debut and midfielder Nico Lodeiro making his league debut after playing in Wednesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup match.
The Lions will next host Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC in the second leg of the opening round of the Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday, Feb. 27, with Orlando City up 3-0 on aggregate. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET with tickets available here.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“This was a very intense game for both teams. In the first half, I thought it was a little rough and rocky for us, we couldn’t find the sequences that we normally found and the way we play. We found a team that was trying to get by with speed and the wings and break our pressure. But when we have the ball we couldn't just create sequences that got us much closer to goal. The first half, we came and spoke about it and decided to make some changes in how we wanted to face the second half. Much better, second half much better. I thought it looked more like us, and we created the options to score. And not being so clean but we respect the job that Montreal did as well because they put their team in the much lower block in the second half. They have a couple attempts to move forward. I think we dominated, but not being so clean so we take the point. I think we have big expectations, I want to us all to know this is a long trip and we have to know how to navigate. It’s not like we’re going to score four goals in every single game. This is a process and we’ll take the tie today. The boys came from a long trip from Canada, and probably in the first half we didn’t have the energy, but in the second half we looked much more like us. So I’ll take the point, and the boys will move on and get ready for the next match.”
Match Notes
- Midfielder Nico Lodeiro made his first-ever Orlando City start in the midfield.
- The match also saw defender David Brekalo make his Lions debut after joining the Club in the offseason.
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese maintained his home opener shutout streak, now five-straight without allowing a goal in Orlando-debut matches.
- With the result, the Lions are still undefeated in the Club’s 10 Home Openers since joining MLS. The draw was the seventh of all Club home openers.
