COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 13, 2023) – Orlando City SC (4-4-3, 15 points) played to a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew (4-4-3, 15 points) on Saturday night at Lower.com Field. The Lions are now unbeaten against the Crew in the last three matches, earning two wins against Columbus last season.
Forward Ercan Kara found the back of the net for the Lions early in the second half, recording his third goal across all competitions so far this season. Facundo Torres tallied the assist on the finish, which serves as his first of the season across all competitions. Last season, the duo also connected for a goal in City’s trip to Lower.com Field.
Forward Duncan McGuire collected his fourth goal of the season with his finish in second-half stoppage time to level the match. His four goals now lead the Lions for most goals scored in the 2023 campaign.
The match against Columbus served as the Club's third-straight away game in eight days. City will have another quick turnaround as it heads back to Exploria Stadium to play New York City FC on Wednesday, May 17.
Scoring Summary:
39’ Darlington Nagbe (Alexandru Matan, Cucho Hernández) – CLB 1, ORL 0
The Crew opened the scoring with Cucho Hernández laying the ball off to Alexandru Matan, who drove the endline. He was able to get the ball across the face of goal and find Darlington Nagbe at the back post for the tap-in.
45+2’ Jacen Russel-Rowe (Mohamed Farsi) – CLB 2, ORL 0
The home side extended their lead in first-half stoppage time when Mohamed Farsi sent in a low cross into the middle of the box that found Jacen Russel-Rowe, who was able to do just enough to get the goal.
49’ Ercan Kara (Facundo Torres) – CLB 2, ORL 1
The Lions pulled one back early on in the second half with Facundo Torres slipping the ball through Crew defense and finding Ercan Kara. Kara took a nice first touch to gather the ball in stride and made no mistake with the finish burying the ball into the bottom left corner.
90+2’ Duncan McGuire – ORL 2, CLB 2
City found the late equalizer when Torres sent a free kick into the box that pinged around a couple players and fell to the feet of Duncan McGuire. McGuire took the strike on his first touch and sent the shot towards the goal, after taking a couple deflections on the way, the ball hit the back of the net.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“It was a tough game, against a tough rival. We didn’t show our potential in the first half and they confused us. On one of the sides of the field, we couldn’t control it right away. We had moments in that first half where we could have probably scored a goal and taken that pressure off, but it was hard and even harder when they scored the first goal. I really liked the reaction of our players. I think they really showed their braveness and our character. The second half was great. The players took the game by their own and I saw our team play much more fútbol and having that volume going forward and we tied it up. I think it is a deserved game for us. Again, credit to these players for showing character and our willingness is intact.”
Match Notes:
- Ercan Kara netted his second goal of the regular season and his third across all competitions with his finish in the 49th minute.
- Facundo Torres recorded his first assist of the 2023 campaign on the Kara finish.
- Duncan McGuire collected his fourth goal of the season, which now leads the team across all competitions so far this season.
- With the draw, the Lions are unbeaten against the Crew in the last three matches
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made six changes to his starting lineup from his side’s last game against Charlotte FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with Pedro Gallese, Antonio Carlos, Iván Angulo, Wilder Cartagena, Martín Ojeda and Ercan Kara all getting the start against the Crew.
