Orlando City upends MLS West leader St. Louis

A hard-fought battle on military-appreciation Saturday night at Exploria Stadium ended in jubilation for the home crowd of 22,156 as Orlando City beat Western Conference leader St. Louis City 2-1.

The win makes it nine MLS games in a row unbeaten at home for the Lions, tied for their best unbeaten streak at home.

The victory also left Orlando City holding the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.

“Happy with the victory. Not just the three points but the way we gained those points,” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said. “[The fans] brought us that energy and I want to just be grateful with them because we felt that energy. Hopefully we can keep bringing people to our place and then we respond with soccer like today.”

Both teams had several opportunities to score in a hotly contested first half but neither could break the deadlock in the first 45 minutes. The Lions were fouled 11 times by St. Louis (14-9-2, 44 points) in the first half, a large part of why they were unable to sustain their attacking efforts.

The second half was a different story. Forward Facundo Torres took advantage of a great pass in the box from Dagur Dan Thórhallsson in the 48th minute and bounced his shot past St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki to give Orlando a 1-0 lead.

St. Louis equalized in the 78th minute but not without some drama. The ball was originally deemed out of bounds before St. Louis midfielder Rasmus Alm scored from a tight angle. VAR overturned the call on the field, giving St. Louis the goal.

Lions defender Rafael Santos’ shot in the 89th minute hit the hand of St. Louis defender Anthony Markanich, giving Orlando a chance to take the lead on the ensuing penalty kick. Torres stepped up for the Lions and skillfully put the ball past Bürki for the second time to give Orlando a 2-1 lead.

“We’re going to get ready for Charlotte and a busy week at Cincinnati,” Pareja added. “Today we show that we are we are a very, very good team.”

Torres’ goal total this year is 10, one more than what he tallied in 34 MLS appearances in 2022. Rookie Duncan McGuire is second for Orlando City with 8 goals.

Orlando midfielder Wilder Cartegena received a yellow card in the 73rd minute and will be suspended for the next match due to yellow-card accumulation.

Next up for Orlando is a trip to North Carolina to take on Charlotte FC on Wednesday, followed by a Saturday game at Cincinnati.