FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Aug. 22, 2020) - Orlando City SC (2-2-2, 8 points) fell 3-2 to Inter Miami CF (1-5-0, 3 points) on Saturday night at Inter Miami CF Stadium in its return to the pitch as part of Major League Soccer’s Continuation of Play schedule.
The match saw 2020 MLS SuperDraft pick Daryl Dike net his first professional goal and notch an assist in his first MLS start. Nani added the Lions’ second finish of the evening in the 80th minute, his second in regular season play, both of which have come against Miami.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“Tonight’s game we’ll go with the sour of knowing we weren’t sharp in our defensive third as a group. A couple of crosses where Miami scored a goal is something that hurt us. All-in-all though, I have to say as well that we respect our ways. We scored two goals and we couldn’t tie the game at the end. The initiative that we had is what we’re trying to do here and I have to say today that without getting the result, I’m still proud of the team and we’ll keep growing. I’ve said it when we win, but this [season] is long and we will get back on track for sure.”
Scoring Recap:
12’ Julián Carranza (Rodolfo Pizarro) - MCF 1, ORL 0
The home side took the early lead with Rodolfo Pizarro playing it to Julián Carranza on the counter-attack, who slotted it inside the near post for the finish.
18’ Daryl Dike - ORL 1, MCF 1
City leveled quickly with rookie forward Daryl Dike netting his first professional goal, following his shot after his first attempt was saved and the second blocked. His third strike took a deflection and found its way into the back of the net past Miami goalkeeper Luis Robles.
23’ Julián Carranza (Ben Sweat) MCF 2, ORL 1
Inter Miami regained the lead after Ben Sweat whipped in a cross from the left side that found the head of Carranza at the far post, who hit it home for his second finish in the match.
49’ Rodolfo Pizarro - MCF 3, ORL 1
Miami doubled its lead with Pizarro hitting a volley from the center of the area into the back of the net.
80’ Nani (Chris Mueller, Daryl Dike) MCF 3, ORL 2
The Lions cut the advantage in half with Dike involving himself once more, laying a ball off to Chris Mueller who teed up a lofting cross that found a running Luis Nani at the back post, getting on the end of it for the finish.
Match Notes:
- Daryl Dike netted both his first professional goal and assist in his first start in Major League Soccer. Dike opened the scoring for the Lions in the 18th minute before earning an assist on Nani’s 80th minute finish. The University of Virginia product was selected fifth-overall by the Lions at the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.
- Nani scored his second goal of the MLS regular season, both of which have come against Inter Miami. He has four total goals on the year.
- Chris Mueller recorded his first assist of the season in the match.
- The match served as the Lions’ first trip down south and the inaugural MLS game at Inter Miami CF stadium since the 2020 expansion side joined the league.
Next Match: The Lions will return home to Exploria Stadium for the first time in Phase 1 of MLS’s Continuation of Play, hosting Nashville SC on Wednesday, Aug. 26 in their first match against the 2020 expansion side.
