After twice grabbing a two-goal lead, Orlando City (17-7-9, 60 points) continued to build momentum heading into the MLS playoffs by defeating the New England Revolution (14–8-10, 52 points) 3-2 at Exploria Stadium on Saturday night.
“We are very proud of belonging to the city, belonging to the community and just take this team to second place and to the [CONCACAF Champions Cup] again,” Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said. “We have a long journey still to go, the players know and the game today was a reflection of where we are.”
Orlando scored first in the 31st minute after defender Dagur Dan Thorhallsson delivered an excellent cross that rookie sensation Duncan McGuire headed past New England and former Lions goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
The goal was McGuire’s 11th in the MLS this season, second-best on the team behind fellow forward Facundo Torres.
Torres got on the scoresheet in the 37th minute to extend his season tally to 14 after Ivan Angulo’s cross found Torres open in the box, from where he connected on a beautiful volley to give Orlando a 2-0 lead.
“We get a lot of volume on the left. We get a couple of crosses. Ivan and Facu were not finishing on the wing but they will finish inside the box,” Pareja added. “We need to recap the game and see what those things that can make us even better competitors for the playoffs.”
An error by Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese allowed the East’s fifth-place New England to pull one back in the 43rd minute. Midfielder Carles Gil fired a shot from distance that should have been a routine save for Orlando’s stalwart keeper but instead ended up in the back of the net.
The goal served as a wake-up call for the Lions, who pushed the lead to 3-1 in the 45th minute. Excellent linkup play between Mauricio Pereyra and Rafael Santos helped bring the ball to the feet of Angulo, who calmly finished Orlando’s third goal in the opening half.
Gil scored a second for the Revolution in the 92nd minute after his shot deflected into goal, but it was only a consolation goal for the losing side.
The victory clinched a spot in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup for the Lions, who secured second place in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Orlando’s next and final match of the regular season is October 21 at Toronto FC.
