July 27, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Orlando City SC News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC defeated the New York Red Bulls 5-1 on Wednesday night at Exploria Stadium to earn a trip and hosting rights to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, the first in Club history. The Lions will host the winner of Sporting Kansas City and Sacramento Republic, which kicked off after the Orlando match, on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.
The Lions saw themselves go down in the match in first-half stoppage time, but quickly struck back before the halftime whistle courtesy of César Araújo scoring his first professional goal. Araújo found a second goal on the night, capping off his brace and sealing the Club’s first trip to the Open Cup Final.
City captain Mauricio Pereyra also found the back of the net on the night for his second goal of the year across all competitions. João Moutinho tallied his first helper of the year on Pereyra’s second-half finish capping off a gorgeous team goal for the Lions. Facundo Torres and Benji Michel also joined in on the fun, finding the back of the net to round off the scoring in the 75th and 83rd minutes, respectively. Both players also earned an assist to go along with their goals, with Júnior Urso notching a helper as well on the Torres finish.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“The importance of the game goes beyond taking the Club to another final, which is super for our fans and what we’re achieving means for the city. We’re working hard, the boys are doing a lot in trying to be more polished on the finishing, creating more sequences and volume [in the attack]. Today is a great reward for them. We’ll keep our heads in the right place, try to be more consistent and score those goals that will give us points. Tonight we want to enjoy this great moment for our fans and for our Club, taking the Club to a second final, and hopefully we can give them this trophy.”
Scoring Recap:
45+1′ Lewis Morgan (Patryk Klimala) – RBNY 1, ORL 0
The visitors got on the board with Patryk Klimala charging down the right flank before whipping a ball across the face of goal, reaching the far post for a wide-open Lewis Morgan to send his shot into the top-right corner of the net.
45+4′ César Araújo – ORL 1, RBNY 1
The Lions leveled less than four minutes later off a corner kick from the right side from Mauricio Pereyra, whose cross found the head of Antonio Carlos in the area. The Brazilian defender’s strike hit off the left post before…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at OurSports Central Major League Soccer MLS News…