Orlando City B Earns First Win of 2026 over Chicago Fire FC II
MLS NEXT Pro Orlando City B

Orlando City B Earns First Win of 2026 over Chicago Fire FC II

Published on March 8, 2026 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Orlando City B News Release


KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Orlando City B (1-1-0, 3 points) earned its first win of the 2026 campaign Sunday night, defeating Chicago Fire FC II (0-1-1, 2 points) 2-1 at Osceola County Stadium to remain perfect at home all-time against Fire II at 4-0-0.

The Lions were lifted by goals from forwards Pedro Leão and Justin Ellis. Leão opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal for the club, finishing a one-time strike after Harvey Sarajian slid a pass back from deep on the right side of the Fire II box. Chicago equalized in first-half stoppage time when a corner kick deflected several times in the OCB box before falling to a Fire II defender for the finish.

Ellis delivered the game-winner midway through the second half, receiving a pass from Sarajian on the left side of the box, cutting to his right foot and curling a shot past Chicago goalkeeper Owen Pratt into the upper-right corner.

Goalkeeper Tristan Himes made his first start of the season, recording four saves to help secure Orlando City B's first win of the MLS NEXT Pro campaign.

The Lions hit the road next Saturday, March 14, for their first away match of the season, facing Carolina Core FC at Truist Point. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on OneFootball.

Match Notes:

With the win, the Lions improved their home record against Chicago Fire II to a perfect 4-0-0.

Forward Pedro Leão scored his first goal for Orlando City B in the 39th minute.

Forward Harvey Sarajian recorded the assist on Leão's goal, the first of his professional career. The 2026 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick now has two goal contributions in his first two professional matches.

Forward Justin Ellis tallied his first goal of 2026, marking his ninth career goal across all competitions for OCB.

Bernardo Rhein notched his first professional assist on Ellis' strike.

2026 MLS SuperDraft selection Jaylen Yearwood made his first professional start.

Orlando City Academy players Parker Amoo-Mensah, Landon Okonski and Logan Tsopanoglou made their OCB debuts, entering as second-half substitutes.

Over the course of the match, Orlando City B featured 11 homegrown players from the Orlando City Academy.

Head Coach Manuel Goldberg made four changes to the lineup from the club's previous match against Huntsville City FC, inserting Tristan Himes, Dylan Judelson, Yutaro Tsukada and Jaylen Yearwood into the starting XI. Goal Highlights:

39' Pedro Leão (Harvey Sarajian) - ORL 1, CHI 0

45+1' Jack Sandmeyer - ORL 1, CHI 1

72' Justin Ellis (Bernardo Rhein) - ORL 2, CHI 1

Teams 1 2 F

Orlando City B 1 1 2

Chicago Fire FC II 1 0 1

Scoring Summary:

ORL - Pedro Leão (Harvey Sarajian) 39'

CHI - Jack Sandmeyer 45+1'

ORL - Justin Ellis (Bernardo Rhein) 72'

Misconduct Summary:

CHI - Hugo Berg (Yellow Card) 18'

ORL - Titus Sandy Jr. (Yellow Card) 19'

ORL - Zakaria Taifi (Yellow Card) 45+5'

ORL - Pedro Leão (Yellow Card) 70'

CHI - Jack Sandmeyer (Yellow Card) 74'

Lineups/Substitutions:

Orlando City B - GK Tristan Himes; D Jaylen Yearwood (Parker Amoo-Mensah 71'), Zakaria Taifi, Titus Sandy Jr. (c), Bernardo Rhein; M Harvey Sarajian, Dylan Judelson, Nicolas Lasheras (Dominik Baczewski 62'), Yutaro Tsukada (Gustavo Caraballo 62'); F Justin Ellis (Landon Okonski 86'), Pedro Leão (Logan Tsopanoglou 86')

Substitutes Not Used: Juan Rojas, Matthew Belgodere, Zinedine Rodríguez, Caleb Trombino

Chicago Fire FC II - GK Owen Pratt; D Charles Nagle, Jack Sandmeyer, Josue Pfrommer, Hugo Berg (Milan Napoe 83'); M Vitaliy Hlyut (Tidiane Diawara 78'), Richard Fleming III (c), Oscar Pineda, Damian Nigg (Dean Boltz 61'); F Robert Turdean (Damyan Villanueva 62'), David Poreba

Substitutes Not Used: David Molenda, Mateo Clark, Omar Gonzalez

Details of the Game

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Weather: Clear

Date: March 8, 2026

Stats:

Shots:

ORL - 16

CHI - 19

Saves:

ORL - 4

CHI - 5

Fouls:

ORL - 13

CHI - 20

Corners:

ORL - 6

CHI - 7

Check out the Orlando City B Statistics

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