Schlegel, Kara power Lions to shutout over Columbus
It took from the least expected to the most expected player to lead the Lions to victory on Saturday night.
A first-half goal from Rodrigo Schlegel followed by a second-half strike from Ercan Kara were enough to earn Orlando City a 2-0 win over the host Columbus Crew at Lower. com Field.
In the 32nd minute, Lucas Zelarayan had an attempt hit off the crossbar. Moments later in the 34th, Columbus teammate Artur had a shot sail over the crossbar.
Orlando (4-2-2, 14 points) opened the scoring in the 37th minute after a cross sent into the area by Facundo Torres connected with Junior Urso, whose ball hit off the Brazilian and redirected toward Schlegel to slot the ball past Columbus keeper Eloy Room.
Columbus almost scored the equalizer in the 44th minute when Zelarayan found an unmarked Derrick Etienne Jr., who hit the open opportunity wide of the goal.
Moments into the start of the second half, Pedro Gallese produced a crucial save in the 48th minute to deny a long-range strike from Zelarayan.
Kara made it 2-0 in the 51st minute after combining with Torres on some give-and-go inside the box before turning and one-time hitting the ball past Room.
It was Kara’s second goal after scoring his first for the Lions last week during a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire at Exploria Stadium.
Coach Oscar Pareja deployed a different lineup against the Crew. Right back Kyle Smith made his first start of the season as Ruan was named as a substitute.
Meanwhile, Benji Michel also got a start, getting the nod over Alexandre Pato, who was added to the team’s bench on Saturday.
Thomas Williams, a 17-year-old homegrown player and academy product, made his MLS debut for Orlando on Saturday after entering during stoppage time for Michel.
Following Orlando’s second goal, the Lions dominated a brief period of possession to finish with 61% possession against the Crew.
The Lions return to Exploria Stadium on Wednesday to take on USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. and host the New York Red Bulls the following Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
OCB falls: On Friday night, Orlando City B suffered its second loss of the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro regular season in falling 2-0 to the Columbus Crew 2 at Historic Crew Stadium.
Jacen Russel-Rowe scored in the third minute of first-half stoppage time before Erik Hurtado doubled the lead in the 81st minute to lead Crew 2.
On Thursday, OCB announced the signing of midfielders Victor Yan and Neicer Acosta.
Up next, Orlando City B hosts New England Revolution II at 6:30 p.m. at Exploria Stadium with the game live-streaming on MLSNextPro.com.
That match is part of a doubleheader with Orlando City taking on the New York Red Bulls at 3:30 p.m.
Academy scores: Following group-stage play in the MLS Generation adidas Cup, the U17 Orlando City academy team moved over to compete in the showcase portion of this week’s tournament in Dallas.
The U17s fell to Los Angeles FC on Wednesday but responded with a 3-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday.
The Young Lions finished capped groupstage play of the showcase with a 2-1 victory over Mexico’s Santos Laguna on Saturday.