1. A fantastic opener led to a dominant finish as Orlando City SC took down FC Cincinnati 3-1 for its final road win of the regular season.
2. Ramiro Enrique is absolutely en fuego since July. After scoring a goal in six straight games back in the early summer months, the forward has now scored four goals in his last four games, including two tonight. A sublime volley off a ball from Kyle Smith, and a tap-in tally after some Iván Angulo hustle. In a game where Duncan McGuire was unavailable, Enrique needed to step up in a big way, and he delivered with authority.
3. With the win, Orlando finishes its regular season road record with eight wins, six losses and three draws. Considering most of those four of those six losses came in the early part of the season, it really hammers home just how good this Lions team has been in the second half of the season. Their current run has seen them win 11 of their last 15 games, and the Lions are now solidly in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
4. There's only one Lions player who has played in every single regular season game this year, and boy, did he have a game tonight. Angulo notched a goal and assist, scoring the second goal of the game for Orlando and putting in good pressure to help assist Enrique for the third. Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game that he embodies the team's culture, with his work rate defensively that helps translate to chances on the offensive end. He notched his 10th assist in MLS play on that Enrique goal, making him the third player this season to have 10 or more assists for Orlando, something the Lions have never had (in MLS or the USL era).
5. Have a game Kyle Smith! His peach of a ball for the assist on the first goal was arguably the highlight of the match, his secondary assist on the second by Angulo was equally as important. Playing in front of his friends and family, the Cincinnati-born fullback had a spectacular game offensively but also was solid at the back, helping lock down a very potent Cincinnati offense with versatile players up top.
6. It's officially the best offensive Orlando City team ever. After Enrique's first goal, the 2024 Lions surpassed the 55-goal mark set by last year's team (and the 2016 squad) to score the most goals in a season in team history. Thirty-three goals in their last 13 MLS regular season matches since the beginning of July has been a massive part of that offensive turnaround, considering before that point, the team had only mustered 25 goals in their first 20 games. It really goes to show that Orlando, for the second straight season, is truly a second-half team.
7. While the team is better in the second half of the season, the first halves of games have been where Orlando have become tone-setters. After tonight, the Lions are now 11-2-2 when scoring the opening goal of a game. The Lions have proven themselves to be tone-setters, needing to get that opening goal and control the game from that point onward. To their credit, they have done exactly that over their last 10 games. In fact, the last time the Lions lost a game after scoring first was back in April against Toronto FC. A lot has changed with this team since then, and it's all been for the better.
8. Heading into this week, the team knew it would be a tough stretch with three games in eight days. But the Lions managed to get all nine points in those eight days and now have nearly cemented themselves in that fourth overall spot in the East. Regardless what happens with NYCFC over the weekend, the Lions control their own destiny heading into Decision Day in two weeks time.
9. Orlando gets a week off between games, as the Lions will host rival Atlanta United on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. ET for Fan Appreciation Night to end the regular season, with playoffs starting the week after.
