Good teams find ways to win, even when things aren’t going their way. Orlando City did just that against Nashville SC in a 1-0 win on Monday night. It was the first playoff win in regulation for the Lions in club history.
Orlando dominated in possession and outshot Nashville 25-7, but signs of their early-season troubles in front of goal were glaring. Neither talismanic forward Facundo Torres or rookie phenom Duncan McGuire were able to make an impact, with only one shot on goal between the pair from the former in the third minute.
Pictures: Orlando City wins first MLS playoff game against Nashville
In fact, despite the drastic difference in shot totals, Nashville eked out higher expected goals with 1.20 to Orlando’s 1.18. It would take a wonder goal from defensive midfielder Wilder Cartagena to break the deadlock in the 41st minute.
“It was a great goal and It was a beautiful goal. I think on the play, it was César [Araújo] who headed it over to me. Then I found myself in a lot of space and I decided to just hit it, with a lot of confidence,” said Cartagena. “Thankfully I hit it in a spot that was really difficult for the goalkeeper. I’ve been trying to do that the last couple of games and this one finally came off and it was a great one.”
Winning in MLS is a team endeavor, something Orlando has excelled at this season. Coach Oscar Pareja expects all of his players to come up big when needed and no one exemplifies that more than midfielder-turned-defender Dagur Dan Thórhallsson.
Thórhallsson’s shift into the defense has paid dividends for the Lions as his speed and aggressiveness makes him equally potent in attack and defense. He was all over the pitch Monday night, causing a massive headache for Nashville as Orlando pinned it back.
“We kept the ball high on the pitch, with a lot of players and a dynamic system, of course. So that was the way we could pin [Nashville] a little bit down and that’s how the goal with Wilder came,” Thórhallsson said. “We pinned them a little bit down and then he got a chance and took it. So, for me, when we pin teams down then most of the players on our team shine.”
It’s not just the players making a difference, either. The atmosphere in Orlando has long been considered one of the best in MLS and they showed at Exploria Stadium, willing the Lions to victory and keeping Nashville on edge.
“[The] atmosphere is getting better and better. I hope that the entire country saw them because it was a great experience to see the crowd engage in the game and give us that much energy,” Pareja added. “They are becoming protagonists of the success of the team, and I was very pleased to see that. It was great.”
The Lions will need to be more clinical in front of goal in order to make a deep playoff run, but they’ve shown even an off night won’t stop their hunt for glory. If they can regain their scoring prowess, they’ll be difficult to stop.
