ORLANDO, Fla. (SportsTicker) – On Wednesday night, Orlando City SC lifted its first trophy since its Major League Soccer tenure began, winning the 107th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in front of a sold-out crowd at Exploria Stadium.
The Lions defeated USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC by a score of 3-0, finishing a top a field of 103 teams to win $300,000 in prize money and punch their ticket to the Club’s first-ever Concacaf Champions League.
City was led by a brace from Facundo Torres, who finished the side’s tournament as its leading goal-scorer with four finishes. Torres found the back of the net in the 75th and 80th minutes, respectively, with Homegrown forward Benji Michel sealing the victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time with his second finish of the competition. Michel and Torres each recorded an assist in the match as well, providing the helper for each’s first goal of the evening.
Capping off a run of six-consecutive Open Cup matches at Exploria Stadium, the Lions made history as the first side to host that many matches en route to an Open Cup title, with Wednesday’s crowd serving as their largest of the tournament with a capacity crowd of 25,527.
The Lions face a quick turnaround, returning to MLS action on Saturday, Sept. 10, traveling to take on the Philadelphia Union in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Subaru Par
