MONTRÉAL (April 19, 2025) – Orlando City SC (3-2-4, 13 points) played to a scoreless draw against CF Montréal (0-6-3, 3 points) at Stade Saputo on Saturday night. The clean sheet serves as the third straight shutout for the Lions as they remain unbeaten in their last six MLS regular season matches.
The night was once again highlighted by the performance of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese in between the sticks, tying his season-high for saves with six, including two in the 69th and 79th minutes to keep the hosts scoreless. The shutout serves as his third of the season as he extends his Club record for most clean sheets in Lions history to 51 across all competitions.
Orlando City B defender Zakaria Taifi made his MLS debut coming on in the 85th minute. Taifi was signed to a short-term agreement prior to the match. The defender started 21 matches in 42 appearances for OCB, scored one goal and provided three assists across his career. Taifi is a product of the Orlando City Academy and served as captain of the team that won the U17 MLS NEXT Cup in 2021.
Orlando City returns to the City Beautiful next weekend for its first showdown of 2025 against Atlanta United FC. The Lions and Five Stripes are set for 7:15 p.m. ET kickoff at Inter&Co Stadium, with the match airing live on both Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“It was a game that gave us parts of it where we played the way we wanted. I seriously see in the first half and 20 minutes, the intention that we brought here to play against Montréal where we sequenced well and created chances. In the second half, it was the same until the red card came. I have to see the reactions. It was very frustrating for us. I saw the team fighting a lot and obviously we are concerned about not scoring goals, but the other side is a good balance defensively. We want to keep that but in order to add three points, we have to score goals. We have to get back to that. I like the attitude of the team. I thought we fought hard. I liked the youngsters that came and helped us and also the guys that were occupying the midfield positions helped us a lot. Saw a bunch of positive things. I know it seems like one point is not enough at this stage, but we know where we are going, and we will keep pushing.”
Match Notes
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese earned his third clean sheet of the season and extended his Club record to 51 shutouts across all competitions.
- Coming on in the 85th minute, Zakaria Taifi made his MLS debut.
- Defender Thomas Williams made his MLS season debut appearing as a substitute in the 80th minute.
- The Lions remain unbeaten in their last six MLS regular season games.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made one change to the Starting XI after his side’s last match against the New York Red Bulls, with defender Kyle Smith returning to the starting lineup.
