ORLANDO, Fla. (Florida Sports Wire) – Orlando City SC (1-1-2, 5 points) fell to Charlotte FC on Saturday night by a 2-1 scoreline at Exploria Stadium. The match saw Martín Ojeda score his first goal as a Lion, tapping in a ball from 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection Duncan McGuire in the second half. The assist marked the second-straight goal contribution from McGuire in league play, after scoring last weekend in D.C.
“It’s a moment where we lost three points at home in a match that we all assumed that we should win. You could see in the two halves and the way the game ended, I have to say that I’m very proud of these players. It’s my responsibility to create a lineup and to create a game plan and in that part, I have to analyze what occurred in the first half and it did not help the boys. The effort in the second [half] was fantastic. I just kept that image. I have to move forward, once again, I take that responsibility of being very unorganized [in the first half], ” said
Head Coach Oscar Pareja.
City fell victim to two offside calls on the night, taking away a finish from Ojeda in the fourth minute and another from Ramiro Enrique in the 79th.
The visitors took the lead thanks to a ball over the top from Jaylin Lindsey, finding a running Enzo Copetti just outside the 18-yard box, who took a touch before slotting the ball into the back of the net. Charlotte doubled its lead in the first half, as Harrison Afful found teammate Kerwin Vargas just outside the 18-yard box who, after some fancy footwork, launched the ball inside the near post.
The Lions return to league play on Saturday, March 25, traveling to take on the Philadelphia Union in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Subaru Park.
NOTES: Martín Ojeda scored his first goal as a Lion in the match…Duncan McGuire tallied his first assist for the Club on the Ojeda finish. The 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection scored his first goal in the side’s last league outing at D.C. United….The assist marked the second-straight goal contribution from McGuire in league play, after scoring in D.C.
With Ojeda’s goal, all four goals scored by the Lions across all competitions have come in the second half of play….Jack Lynn made his first appearance of the season, entering the game in the 82nd minute…Head Coach Oscar Pareja made three changes to his starting lineup from Wednesday’s Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League fixture, with Rafael Santos, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson and Duncan McGuire all getting the nod.
