September 1, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Orlando City SC News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC (12-10-6, 42 points) battled back and earned a 3-2 victory over Seattle Sounders FC (10-15-3, 33 points) on Wednesday night at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the second half and win their fourth straight game of the season in a game that was delayed nearly two hours due to inclement weather.
The Lions were backed by goals from Facundo Torres, Ercan Kara and Kyle Smith who all came into the match as second-half substitutes. Torres started things off by hitting a scorcher of a ball that left the Seattle goalkeeper flat-footed as the ball struck the back of the net. João Moutinho picked up the assist after finding Torres.
The match was leveled via Kara, who stepped up to the penalty spot after a handball to slot the ball home. The goal served as Kara’s 10th of the season in all competitions, which leads the team.
The game-winning goal came from Smith, who made a nice move on the endline to get away from his defender and rifled the ball towards the goal. The ball deflected off a Seattle defender and in, counting as Smith’s second game-winning goal of the season following his finish in a 1-0 victory at Toronto FC.
The victory marks the Club’s fourth-straight victory, with their last three matches seeing the Lions win in the dying moments. The stretch of games started with an 89th-minute winner from Tesho Akindele in a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC. Akindele played hero again in the next match, scoring the game-winning goal in the 96th minute over NYCFC.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“[We are] very happy of course. Very proud of this group of players. We understand that the best teams in the world, the boys spoke about it, are not the ones who don’t have difficult moments, but are the ones who overcome. This gives us a lot of optimism about who we are and how things come. A phenomenal effort against a very difficult rival, we have to remember that they were champions in the Concacaf and have a lot of hierarchy and players with a lot of experience. We found our ways to resolve the game and once again overcoming those challenges. Once again congratulations to the players and thanks to fans who stayed and waited for us with the delay. We dedicate this to the city and we will obviously get ready for what is our next challenge that we are waiting for.”
Scoring Recap:
26′ Albert Rusnák – SEA 1, ORL 0
The Sounders struck first…
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