Your Lions for #ORLvTOR! đ pic.twitter.com/8ohD8ZKDqh
â Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) July 14, 2018
ORLANDO, Fla. – The wait is over.
Orlando City SC’s club record nine-game losing streak is finally over, as the Lions (7-11-1, 22 points) defeated Toronto FC (4-11-4, 16 points) 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium Saturday night in front of 23,420 fans.
“For sure, [I saw a relief on players’ faces]. I think for everyone, to be honest with you,” head coach James O’Connor said after his first home match at the helm. “I think that’s been a dark cloud we’ve all been trying to disperse really quick, you know. No, I think we can all be pleased that’s gone.
“But it’s one win. We wanna keep going.”
A lot of City’s shortcomings during their winless drought turned into bright spots against Toronto. For starters, the Lions scored the first goal of the match for the first time since April 21 when City scored two minutes into a match against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The goal came from one of the most unlikely of scorers: center back Chris Schuler.
In the 34th minute, midfielder Yoshimar YotĂșn set up a Lions free kick by drawing his third foul of the first half. As the defense got set, YotĂșn centered the ball to forward Dom Dwyer, who blasted the ball for an on-goal effort on TFC keeper Alex Bono‘s goal.
Bono made the save but not cleanly, as the ball ricocheted off the left part of his body and high into the air. Schuler was the first player to charge the goalie, leaping into the air and heading the ball to Bono’s right for a 1-0 lead.
Schuler scored his first goal since 2014, his sixth of his nine-year MLS career.
“I saw one of the best forwards in the country squaring up on the goal and knew that [Bono] wouldn’t be able to hold onto it, so I just made a run through, expecting the rebound, and it kinda worked out,” Schuler said after the match.
Overall, YotĂșn created two chances, completed 84 percent of his 75 passes, took a shot (one on-goal), recorded a match-high four tackles and drew five fouls.
Said O’Connor on YotĂșn’s performance: “I mean, you look at his quality — he’s an exceptional talent. Really, I mean, he’s got a wonderful left foot… You see his quality on the ball. Well, people don’t necessarily understand how hard he works.
“I mean, if you watch how hard he works and the distance that that boy covers, I mean, that boy has got a great engine, great character. So, now, we’ve had some great conversations with him. Really impressed with his attitude and his mentality, to be honest. His mentality has been very strong, which is, again, something that we need.”
Dwyer was a part of Orlando City’s second goal, too, as he helped the Lions double their lead minutes into the second half.
In the 48th minute, Dwyer received the ball near the top-right part of Toronto’s box. He took two touches to center the ball at the top of the box and unleashed a one-hopper that powered past Bono’s diving, outstretched save attempt. In total, Dwyer took five shots (four on-goal), created two chances and drew a foul.
Dwyer scored his first goal in five games, his first since scoring off the bench on June 9 in a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
“It’s been a while [since we’ve won],” Dwyer said after the team’s first win since May 6. “You know, obviously, we played a good performance tonight. We were trying not to live in the past so much and obviously move forwards. And, you know, it was a big result for us tonight.”
In O’Connor’s first home match at the helm, he made at least one significant change to one position in the lineup: goalkeeper. Fourth-year keeper Earl Edwards Jr. made just his second regular-season appearance since joining the team in 2015.
Edwards Jr. took over for perennial starter Joe Bendik, who has started 85 of the last 86 matches for City, posting a four-save performance. Most of Edwards Jr.’s work came around the 60th-minute mark.
In the 58th minute, the UCLA Bruins alumnus made his first save, stopping a right-footed shot by second-half sub Jay Chapman. No more than a minute later did Edwards Jr. make another save: Midfielder Michael Bradley led forward Sebastian Giovinco into the middle of the box for a close-range attempt that Edwards Jr. stopped with the left part of his body.
Edwards Jr. made his third save, a routine catch at his feet, in the 61st minute.
Unfortunately for Edwards Jr., the hopes of a shutout in his first win as the starting keeper were dashed in second-half stoppage time. Toronto scored its only goal of the match in the 94th minute.
In the 93rd minute, Chapman drew a foul to set up Giovinco for a far-post, free-kick delivery that found the foot of defender Nick Hagglund that zoomed to the opposite post, past Edwards Jr. for his third goal of the season.
“Absolutely, [I was pleased with my performance],” Edwards Jr. said after the win. “Wish I could have gotten the shutout, but, just to get a win and break the streak, hopefully it’ll turn the ball around…”
Who’s Next?
The Lions return to U.S. Open Cup play on Wednesday when they travel to face the Philadelphia Union in the quarterfinals. That match is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. Orlando City’s next MLS match will be on the road against Columbus Crew SC on July 21 at 7:30 p.m.
For more on the Lions, as they look to build a new winning streak, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
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