WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 16, 2021) - Orlando City SC (2-0-3, 8 points) took a 1-0 shutout victory at D.C. United (2-4-0, 6 points) on Sunday night at Audi Field. With the victory, the Lions set a new Club-record for consecutive results to start a campaign, sitting at five matches unbeaten to begin the 2021 season.
Mauricio Pereyra scored the eventual game-winner in the seventh minute of play, his first goal of the year. Tesho Akindele earned the assist on the finish, his first of the year, while Pedro Gallese had to register just one save on the night to earn his third clean sheet of 2021, already matching his total in regular season action from a year ago.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“I’m very happy, very proud of the effort of the players. I think today we needed much more and the boys did it. They defended well against a team who threw a lot of bodies and numbers [forward]. I’m very happy to see this phase of our team. In many other games, we have dominated the game and then come with a sour result. Today, [we knew] we must win this game. That was the commitment of the group and the group did it. Tremendous points that we’ll take home.”
Scoring Recap:
7’ Mauricio Pereyra (Tesho Akindele) - ORL 1, DC 0
City got on the board early with Kyle Smith lofting the ball to Mauricio Pereyra just inside the box. The ball deflected off Pereyra to Tesho Akindele, who laid it back off for the Lions’ No. 10 who then bodied off his defender before sending his shot low and hard into the right side of the net.
Match Notes:
- Mauricio Pereyra scored his first goal of 2021 in the match, with Tesho Akindele earning his first assist of the year on the finish.
- Chris Mueller recorded his 100th appearance across all competitions in an Orlando City uniform on the night, entering the match in the 82nd minute for Akindele. Mueller became the second to do so in Club history after Cristian Higuita reached the same mark in 2019.
- Pedro Gallese recorded one save in the match to earn his third clean sheet of the season, now tied for the league-lead in shutouts. The Peruvian international’s three clean sheets already matches his 2020 total in regular season action, with seven in total across all competitions as a Lion.
- Robin Jansson made his first appearance of the season, entering the match for Benji Michel in the 51st minute.
- With the win, the Lions’ broke a Club-record for consecutive results to start an MLS campaign, now sitting at five matches unbeaten to start the year.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to his starting lineup from a week ago, with João Moutinho earning his first start of the campaign while Benji Michel made his second up top.
Next Match: The Lions return home on Saturday, May 22, set to take on Toronto FC at Exploria Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Mauricio Pereyra (Tesho Akindele) 7’
Misconduct Summary:
DC - Brendan Hines-Ike (Yellow Card) 42’
ORL - João Moutinho (Yellow Card) 61’
ORL - Mauricio Pereyra (Yellow Card) 69’
ORL - Chris Mueller (Yellow Card) 90+3’
ORL - Nani (Yellow Card) 90+5’
DC - Frederic Brillant (Yellow Card) 90+7’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Pedro Gallese; D João Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith; M Mauricio Pereyra (Andrés Perea 70’), Júnior Urso (Joey DeZart 82’), Sebastián Méndez, Benji Michel (Robin Jansson 51’); F Nani ©, Tesho Akindele (Chris Mueller 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brandon Austin; D Michael Halliday; F Matheus Aiás, Alexander Alvarado, Silvester van der Water
D.C. United - GK Jon Kempin; D Brendan Hines-Ike, Frederic Brillant ©, Joseph Mora (Yamil Asad 78’), Tony Alfaro; M Junior Moreno (Felipe 64’), Paul Arriola (Kevin Paredes 64’), Edison Flores, Drew Skundrich, Moses Nyeman (Julian Gressel 46’); F Adrien Pérez (Ola Kamara 64’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Chris Seitz; D Andy Najar; M Russell Canouse; F Griffin Yow
Details of the Game:
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy
Date: May 16, 2021
Attendance: 5,280
Stats:
Possession:
DC - 55%
ORL - 45%
Shots:
DC - 13
ORL - 6
Saves:
DC - 0
ORL - 1
Fouls:
DC - 20
ORL - 15
Corners:
DC - 10
ORL - 2
