After two-straight MLS road wins, Orlando City SC opened its Leagues Cup campaign with a 1-1 (3-4) loss against Liga MX’s Pumas UNAM on Wednesday night.
In what was a relatively calm first half, Orlando defender Rodrigo Schlegel notched the Lions’ only goal in the fifth minute, heading in a cross from midfielder Martín Ojeda. The goal is Schlegel’s first since September of last year, when Orlando faced FC Dallas.
“[I’m] happy to score yet again,” Schlegel said. “A little bit needed for what happened with not being able to score after that, but happy to score tonight so early in the match, kind of try and set the tone.”
Schlegel’s reference to not scoring again ultimately came back to bite Orlando.
After halftime, the Lions’ defense sat back while its offense wasn’t creating enough scoring chances. Orlando wasn’t as aggressive as they were in the first half, letting Pumas keep the ball at their feet and control the pace of play. That allowed Pumas’ Coco Carrasquilla to sneak through Orlando’s last line of defense in the 80th minute and slip the ball past Pedro Gallese, tying the match at one apiece.
The outcome was yet another instance where Orlando was up late but couldn’t make it to the final whistle.
“We were really dominating the game within the game,” Schlegel said. “[In] the second half, we had a little bit more difficulty due to the situation in the game. They were down. They had to start coming out of their area more. It made things difficult on us… and they claimed the second half.”
In what seems to be a recurring theme, the Lions gave up yet another late goal, costing them a win they were only minutes away from claiming. It’s similar to their matches against Montréal and New York City FC earlier this month, where they left several league points up for grabs. Those points are crucial as Orlando seeks a top-four seed in the postseason.
“It’s just that we’re not closing the games,” said Orlando Manager Óscar Pareja. “We have to improve, especially in the last 15 minutes, and stop thinking that is the game is something that we can neutralize better. We’re just considering too much territory to the opponents, and then it’s hard to keep the land high, it’s hard to keep the team in a higher position.”
Up front, the Lions struggled to hold up the ball and allow themselves to get forward. Forward Ramiro Enrique came off a two-goal outing last Friday against Columbus Crew, but he didn’t play at nearly the same level and couldn’t maintain possession in transition with the consistency Orlando needed against a never-ending pressure from Pumas.
On a positive note, Ojeda continues to be a much-needed playmaker for Orlando’s attack, tallying his 13th assist of the season and sending in several crosses that gave Pumas issues. Lions’ forward Marco Pašalic had a particularly good outing too, forcing Pumas’ defense to pay attention on the right side in addition to worrying about forward Iván Angulo’s speed on the left wing.
Pašalic said one factor that may have played a role is facing an unfamiliar aggressive and intense Liga MX playstyle.
“It was much more hard [and] more running in the MLS,” Pašalic said. “You have some games where you control more the ball, and now it was difficult because they start really hard in the game, lot of tackles, and then you have to fight the whole game.”
Now, the Lions head into the weekend with just one point, putting pressure on them to get wins and advance. However, Pareja isn’t as concerned with the match’s outcome, instead focusing more on how his squad performed.
“I want to point out that the game end up 1-1,” Pareja said. “We didn’t lose the game. We lost in the PK because it’s the format, but the boys found today good competition, a good team also. That’s why I want to highlight that it was that we lost the game. We didn’t lose the game.”
Orlando will play Atlas F.C. on Saturday in their second Phase One Leagues Cup match. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00pm at Inter & Co Stadium.
