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MLS Orlando City SC

Orlando City SC Remains Unbeaten in 1-1 Draw Against D.C. United

March 11, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Orlando City SC News Release


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Orlando City SC (1-0-2, 5 points) battled to a 1-1 draw with D.C. United (1-1-1, 4 points) on Saturday night in the nation's capital. The Lions were backed by a second-half finish from Duncan McGuire, scoring his first professional goal in what also served as his professional debut. McGuire was selected by the Club at No. 6 overall at the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Creighton University.

Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese had another strong showing for the Lions, tallying four saves for the side including two point-blank stops to keep the Black and Red off the board. With D.C. United's finish in the second half, the Lions' Club-record shutout streak to start a campaign came to an end at 394 minutes.

City now turns its attention to the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, set to host Tigres UANL in Leg 2 of the Round of 16 on Wednesday, March 15 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET with tickets available here.

Scoring Summary:

53' Duncan McGuire (Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Kyle Smith) - ORL 1, DC 0

The Lions took the lead thanks to a cross from the right flank from Kyle Smith, finding the head of Dagur Dan Thórhallsson. The Icelandic was able to direct it across the face of goal to the foot of Duncan McGuire for the tap-in finish.

80' Chris Durkin (Pedro Santos) - ORL 1, DC 1

The home side leveled with Pedro Santos finding Chris Durkin at the edge of the area, who cut it back to his left foot before firing a shot inside the far post.

Head Coach Oscar Pareja:

"We did expect the game in the second half to have more volume and more action in front of the net. We knew the defense from the first half would reveal some possibilities because we played with one more defender and one less attacker, but we wanted to have solidness. We wanted to see if we could create more sequences around, in the flanks. I think we did with maybe not as much consistency. In the second half when we made the change of the model and we made the change of the personnel, we knew that this was going to surprise D.C. When that happened, I thought we looked much better. I think we had a couple more actions, we scored a goal and we accomplished that objective."

Match Notes:

Duncan McGuire scored his first professional goal in what also served as his professional debut on the night, getting the startup top for the Lions. With the finish, McGuire becomes the first draft pick by the Lions in Club history to score in his professional debut and the first 2023 SuperDraft selection to find the back of the net across MLS.

The Lions set a new Club-record by going 394 minutes without conceding a goal to start a season.

Dagur Dan Thórhallsson earned his first goal contribution for City with the assist on McGuire's goal.

Kyle Smith notched an assist on the McGuire finish, his fourth in purple in what also served as his 70th start in all competitions as a Lion.

The Lions Club-record shutout streak to start a campaign came to an end on Saturday night at 349 minutes.

Rafael Santos recorded his Orlando City debut with the start.

Head Coach Oscar Pareja made six changes to his starting lineup from Tuesday's match in Monterrey, with McGuire, Rafael Santos, Abdi Salim, Kyle Smith, Wilder Cartagena and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson all getting the nod.

Next Match: Orlando City returns to Exploria Stadium on Wednesday, March 15 to host Tigres UANL in Leg 2 of the Round of 16 of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.

Teams

1

2

F

D.C. United

0

1

1

Orlando City SC

0

1

1

Scoring Summary:

ORL - Duncan McGuire (Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Kyle Smith) 53'

DC - Chris Durkin (Pedro Santos) 80'

Misconduct Summary:

DC - Yamil Asad (Yellow Card) 65'

ORL - Kyle Smith (Yellow Card) 77'

DC - Ruan (Yellow Card) 87'

Lineups/Substitutions:

Orlando City SC - GK Pedro Gallese; D Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel, Abdi Salim (Robin Jansson 46'), Kyle Smith (Mikey Halliday 83'); M Iván Angulo (Gastón González 68'), Wilder Cartagena, Mauricio Pereyra © (César Araújo 64'), Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Facundo Torres (Martín Ojeda 46'); F Duncan McGuire

Substitutes Not Used: GK Mason Stajduhar; D Antonio Carlos; M Felipe Martins; F Ercan Kara

D.C. United - GK Tyler Miller; D Mohanad Jeahze, Steven Birnbaum, Derrick Willams, Ruan; M Pedro Santos (Jackson Hopkins 87'), Mateusz Klich, Russell Canouse, Chris Durkin (Kristian Fletcher 90+3'); F Christian Benteke, Theodore Ku-Dipietro (Yamil Asad 59')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Alex Bono; D Matai Akinmboni, Jacob Greene, Donovan Pines, Hayden Sargis; M Victor Pálsson

Details of the Game:

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: Cloudy

Date: March 11, 2023

Attendance: 15,994

Stats:

Possession:

DC - 56.5%

ORL - 43.5%

Shots:

DC - 16

ORL - 9

Saves:

DC - 3

ORL - 4

Fouls:

DC - 9

ORL - 14

Corners:

DC - 5

ORL - 2

Heineken Star of the Match: Pedro Gallese

Check out the Orlando City SC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from March 11, 2023


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