ORLANDO, Fla. (May 25, 2022) - Orlando City SC is moving on to the Quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after defeating fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) side and intrastate foes Inter Miami CF via a penalty shootout at Exploria Stadium.
After finishing regulation scoreless, Orlando and Miami each found the back of the net in extra time to force penalty kicks to decide the match. Facundo Torres scored for the Lions, good for his first Open Cup goal, with an assist from Mauricio Pereyra. In the shootout, goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar recorded a save while all four Lions who attempted a shot converted from the spot in Ercan Kara, Robin Jansson, Andrés Perea and Maurcio Pereyra, punching their ticket to the last eight of the nation’s oldest cup competition.
With the victory, the Lions are set to host Nashville SC on Wednesday, June 29 in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff at Exploria Stadium. Ticket information will be available in the coming days.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“A fantastic performance. Besides the victory, it was an incredible effort from the players. They just played three days ago, so to have that courage and that willingness to do everything they did [was great]. I thought we managed the game the whole time and had the best of the game. We have been fighting to be more precise, which we’ll do. They overcame a situation in Austin that was very unfair. That was not easy to overcome mentally, so I want to recognize that effort from the players. Their hearts are big and we’re proud of that.”
Scoring Recap:
94’ Jean Mota (Joevin Jones) - MIA 1, ORL 0
The visitors took the lead shortly into extra time, with Jean Mota able to curl a shot into the near post from just outside the area for the finish.
97’ Facundo Torres (Mauricio Pereyra) - ORL 1, MIA 1
The Lions leveled shortly after with Mauricio Pereyra finding Facundo Torres in the area, who was able to dribble across the box before firing a left-shooted shot straight into the back of the net.
Match Notes:
- With the victory, the Lions have reached the Quarterfinal round in each of their last three Open Cup appearances.
- Goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar remains unbeaten in U.S. Open Cup play for Orlando City, starting in net through the entirety of the Lions’ run this year.
- Facundo Torres scored his first U.S. Open Cup goal in the match in what served as his third in all competitions this campaign.
- Mauricio Pereyra tallied his sixth assist of the year on Torres’ extra time finish, extending his own Club record with his 29th in all competitions.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made five changes to his starting lineup from the Lions’ last match with Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Sebastián Méndez, Alexandre Pato and Tesho Akindele all getting the nod.
Next Match: The Lions return home on Saturday, May 28, set to host FC Dallas in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Exploria Stadium.
