CHICAGO (May 29, 2024) – Orlando City SC (4-6-5, 17 points) played to a 1-1 draw against Chicago Fire FC (2-8-6, 12 points) on Wednesday night at Soldier Field. Midfielder Facundo Torres scored the Lions lone goal in the match, opportunistic early on to net the 32nd of his career to take sole possession of second place on the Club’s all-time scoring list.
The Lions will stay out on the road, traveling east to take on the New York Red Bulls this Saturday, June 1. The Lions and Red Bulls will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Red Bull Arena on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Scoring Summary:
4’ Facundo Torres – ORL 1, CHI 0
The Lions got things started early on in the night after a chaotic sequence of rebounds found Facundo Torres at the top of the Fire’s six-yard box. Torres slid the ball to the far post in a move that surprised goalkeeper Chris Brady and found the back of the net.
70’ Hugo Cuypers (Arnaud Souquet, Maren Haile-Selassie) – ORL 1, CHI 1
The hosts leveled things up in the 70th minute, breaking down the left wing to get in behind the Lions. Arnaud Souquet sent a centering ball to Hugo Cuypers who one-times a slow shot past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“It was a game that we should have won. I thought we had our opportunities, I thought we had the actions to define the game. The effort of the players was there constantly, and Chicago had a few instances just to get out of those moments. But we felt that we fell short, we should have won it and it is disappointing still. We see the team growing in some areas and, again, the players effort is always for me remarkable.”
Match Notes
- Facundo Torres scored his second goal for the Lions in 2024 MLS regular season play and his fifth across all competitions. Torres’ tally was his 32nd all-time, giving him sole possession of second place on the Lions’ all-time scoring chart.
- Defender Robin Jansson started in the match, making his 175th all-time appearance for Orlando City across all competitions. The appearance was his first since the Lions’ 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Union on May 11, missing the last three matches due to injury.
- Jansson picked up a yellow card during halftime of the match, which marks his fifth of the season and as such will be suspended for Orlando City’s weekend matchup against the New York Red Bulls.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to his starting lineup from his side’s last match against the Columbus Crew, with Robin Jansson and Martín Ojeda returning to the Starting XI.
