HARRISON, N.J. (Aug. 13, 2022) - Orlando City SC (9-10-6, 33 points) walked out of Red Bull Arena with all three points earning a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls (10-8-7, 37 points) on Saturday night.
The Lions were backed by a 17th minute strike from forward Facundo Torres. The goal served as his third game-winning goal of the campaign and his seventh across all competitions. Júnior Urso and Alexandre Pato were both awarded assists in the build up for the goal counting for both Urso’s and Pato’s sixth of the year.
Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese recorded his eighth clean sheet of the campaign, which set a single-season Club-record. Defender João Moutinho came up with a critical goal line clearance following a Red Bull free kick in the 94th minute of the match to help preserve the shut out.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“A deserved result for the team. A great effort. All the players did a tremendous week of work as well after a couple weeks where we could say we deserved much more, but the game did not reward them. They kept pushing and today in a difficult place against a difficult rival they confirmed first that they are committed to this group and secondly that what happened in the Open Cup was not just a one day thing, with all the respect that we have for New York. Coming back to get the three points is very fresh for us. We are very happy for our fans, hopefully we can get this momentum going. Regarding the game, the first half was very well trained. I think our boys were very smart in occupying the spaces. The rest of the game, we showed balance and we can grow from that balance. Hard job for the boys but a very rewarding three points that mean a lot for us.”
Scoring Recap:
17’ Facundo Torres (Júnior Urso, Alexandre Pato) - ORL 1, RBNY 0
The Lions got on the board with Alexandre Pato feeding Júnior Urso up the middle of the pitch, who kept it long enough before finding a running Facundo Torres on the left flank. Torres took one touch before rifling off a left footed shot that deflected off Red Bulls’ goalkeeper Carlos Coronel and then the far post before going into the back of the net.
Match Notes:
- Facundo Torres netted his seventh goal as a Lion in the match.
- Júnior Urso tallied his sixth assist of the campaign on Torres’ first half finish, with Alexandre Pato picking up his sixth as well with the secondary.
- Pedro Gallese set a new single-season record for clean sheets in Club history with his eighth of the year.
- Wilder Cartagena made his Orlando City debut in the match, entering in second half stoppage time.
- João Moutinho made his 75th appearance in all competitions with the start.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made one change to his starting lineup from the side’s last three matches, with Kyle Smith re-entering the fold.
Next Match: The Lions head back on the road, traveling for their first visit to Charlotte FC on Sunday, Aug. 21 in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff at Bank of America Stadium.
