WASHINGTON, D.C. (Florida Sports Wire) – Orlando City SC (1-0-2, 5 points) battled to a 1-1 draw with D.C. United (1-1-1, 4 points) on Saturday night in the nation’s capital.
The Lions were backed by a second-half finish from Duncan McGuire, scoring his first professional goal in what also served as his professional debut. McGuire was selected by the Club at No. 6 overall at the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Creighton University.
“We did expect the game in the second half to have more volume and more action in front of the net. We knew the defense from the first half would reveal some possibilities because we played with one more defender and one less attacker, but we wanted to have solidness,” said Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese had another strong showing for the Lions, tallying four saves for the side including two point-blank stops to keep the Black and Red off the board. With D.C.
United’s finish in the second half, the Lions’ Club-record shutout streak to start a campaign came to an end at 394 minutes.
Orlando City returns to Exploria Stadium on Wednesday, March 15 to host Tigres UANL in Leg 2 of the Round of 16 of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
Match Notes:
- Duncan McGuire scored his first professional goal in what also served as his professional debut on the night, getting the start-up top for the Lions. With the finish, McGuire becomes the first draft pick by the Lions in Club history to score in his professional debut and the first 2023 SuperDraft selection to find the back of the net across MLS.
- The Lions set a new Club-record by going 394 minutes without conceding a goal to start a season.
- Dagur Dan Thórhallsson earned his first goal contribution for City with the assist on McGuire’s goal.
- Kyle Smith notched an assist on the McGuire finish, his fourth in purple in what also served as his 70th start in all competitions as a Lion.
- The Lions Club-record shutout streak to start a campaign came to an end on Saturday night at 349 minutes.
- Rafael Santos recorded his Orlando City debut with the start.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made six changes to his starting lineup from Tuesday’s match in Monterrey, with McGuire, Rafael Santos, Abdi Salim, Kyle Smith, Wilder Cartagena and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson all getting the nod.
