ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Orlando City SC claimed a vital 2-1 victory over CF Montréal at Inter&Co Stadium on Friday night, ending a miserable run of three straight defeats to open the 2026 MLS season. Goals from Duncan McGuire in the 18th minute and Martín Ojeda in the 31st minute in a breathless first half proved enough for the Lions, who held firm against a desperate Montréal side pushing hard for an equalizer in the final stages. The win, secured in front of 18,035 supporters under the warm Orlando evening sky, was a statement from a young squad determined to prove they did not belong at the foot of the Eastern Conference standings.
From the opening whistle, it was clear this was a different Orlando City side. The Lions pressed with urgency and purpose, controlling possession and testing Montréal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier early. The intensity was palpable — the coaching staff barked instructions from the touchline, and players like McGuire and Iván Angulo threw themselves into every challenge with a hunger that had been absent in previous outings. The teams shared possession almost equally across the ninety minutes, a 50%-50% split that underscored just how competitive and tightly contested this match truly was, with neither side able to establish clear dominance in the opening stages.
The breakthrough arrived in the 18th minute when McGuire latched onto a chance inside the box and drilled a left-footed shot from the centre of the area straight past Gillier. The Inter&Co Stadium crowd erupted, sensing something different about their team on this night. But Montréal responded with conviction and purpose. Six minutes later, Wiki Carmona delivered a whipped cross from a corner, and Prince Owusu rose brilliantly at the left side of the six-yard box to power a header into the top left corner, restoring parity and silencing the home faithful in an instant.
The equalizer lasted barely seven minutes. In the 31st minute, Angulo played a sharp, incisive pass to Martín Ojeda, who took one touch to set himself before drilling a composed left-footed finish from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner. It was a goal of real quality — calm, precise, and decisive. Ojeda's strike proved to be the winner, and Orlando would not relinquish the lead again, despite the relentless pressure that would follow throughout the second half.
Eduard Atuesta was cautioned in the 33rd minute for a bad foul, adding a layer of tension to an already feisty encounter. He was withdrawn at the start of the second half when Orlando's manager made a tactical adjustment, bringing on Colin Guske in the 61st minute to shore up the midfield. Montréal, to their credit, threw everything at the Lions in the second period. The visitors made a flurry of substitutions — bringing on Iván Jaime, Samuel Piette, and later Noah Streit and Olger Escobar — in search of the equalizer that would salvage a point from a frustrating evening.
Jaime's influence was immediate; he delivered a dangerous cross that found Efraín Morales, whose header from the centre of the box was smothered brilliantly by Javier Otero. The Orlando goalkeeper was equally sharp to deny a long-range effort from Carmona, who had been assisted by Victor Loturi, tipping the left-footed drive from beyond 35 yards to safety with a crucial intervention. Otero's four saves were essential to Orlando's cause, and his composure under pressure in the final stages gave the home side the platform to see the game out with growing confidence.
At the other end, Gillier also made four stops, including a sharp denial of McGuire's right-footed effort from the centre of the box — a chance created by Ojeda — that would have put the result beyond doubt. Angulo, meanwhile, struck the left post with a left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box, a moment that summed up the fine margins of the evening and the quality of chances both sides created. The goalkeeping duel proved decisive, with both Otero and Gillier making crucial contributions that kept their respective teams in the contest.
As the clock wound down, Orlando's young substitutes — Zakaria Taifi, Tyrese Spicer, and Tahir Reid-Brown among them — pushed the ball forward with relentless energy, pressing a tiring Montréal side that had run out of answers. The Lions cleared their lines repeatedly in the dying minutes, showing a collective heart and resilience that had been sorely missing in their opening three losses. This was a team playing for their coach, for each other, and for a fanbase that had endured a difficult start to the campaign.
The scoreboard resets; the table does not. Orlando City SC travel to face Nashville SC on March 21 carrying the confidence of their first win, while CF Montréal must regroup swiftly before a trip to face FC Cincinnati on March 22, both teams seeking to build momentum in the weeks ahead.
