Orlando City and New York Red Bulls end in scoreless draw

Orlando, FL – A rematch in the Citrus State. The last time Orlando City SC and the New York Red Bulls faced off, the match ended in a 2-2 draw. This time around, in Match Week #8, it was more of the same.

Orlando dominated possession of the ball in the first half. Luis Muriel nearly snuck a shot by Carlos Coronel within the game’s first two minutes. The trend continued as Marco Pasalic (11th minute), Muriel (20th minute), and Martin Ojeda (32nd minute) all had scoring opportunities. OCSC took a total of nine shots during the first 45 minutes, four of which were on target.

Yellow means slow down

While Orlando dominated the overall tempo to start the game, yellow cards slowed the Lions down. In the 18th minute, Pasalic was assessed a yellow card for taking down a Red Bulls defender. Then, in the 30th minute, Rodrigo Schlegel was given a yellow card for an illegal slide tackle, according to the ref. No yellow cards were issued to the NYRB during the first leg of the contest.

The biggest obstacle Orlando faced in the early going was the concrete wall of Carlos Coronel. Coronel had many difficult shots to block and capitalized on every opportunity. Despite giving up four goals in the last three contests for the Red Bulls, Coronel was in peak Player-of-the-Match-Week form against Orlando. Thus far, Coronel has two Player of the Match Week nods this season.

NYRB received their first yellow card of the match within one minute as the second half kicked off. Serge Ngoma collided with Rodrigo Schlegel and picked up the penalty. Fast forward eight minutes later, and Rodrigo Schlegel was given his second yellow card, leaving the Lions one man down for the remainder of the competition.

Joran Gerbet talked after the game about the difficulties of playing one man down. “You have to be careful. Still, 30 minutes and 10 men is a lot of running for everyone. You have to cover more space. You have to be cautious.”

El Pulpo with back to back clean sheets. This marks Pedro Gallese's 50th of his career. #orlandocity @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/fuv7fiUig3

— Michael Saylor 34 (@Saylor3426320) April 14, 2025

An all-out sprint

Orlando kept the foot on the gas despite being one man down. In the 64th minute, Alex Freeman broke past his defender and nearly scored on Coronel. Duncan McGuire subbed in for Luis Muriel and provided an immediate spark. Within minutes, McGuire gave the Lions several scoring chances.

Despite McGuire’s energy, the Wall of Coronel was too much for OCSC to overcome. The final score was a draw: Orlando City-0 New York Red Bulls-0. City fans, take the point in the standings and be thankful it wasn’t a goose egg. Off to CF Montreal for Match Week #9.