PAWTUCKET, R.I. (April 29, 2026) – Orlando City SC advanced to the Quarterfinals of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after a dramatic 4-3 victory over the New England Revolution at Centreville Bank Stadium on Wednesday night. The Lions erased three deficits before a stoppage-time goal from Zakaria Taifi sealed their place in the next round of the historic tournament.
The match unfolded as a back-and-forth affair between the two sides from the outset, with the Revs twice taking the lead in the first half and Orlando City responding quickly on each occasion. New England struck first in the 21st minute when Malcolm Fry was played into the box and held off his defender to finish at the near post. Orlando responded 10 minutes later, as Iago rose high to head home a Tiago free kick for his first goal in purple.
New England reclaimed their lead in the 37th minute through a set piece of their own. Gabe Dahlin recovered a loose ball in the six-yard box and laid it off to Andrew Farrell, who hammered a low effort into the net to make it 2-1. The lead lasted two minutes before Ivan Angulo floated a ball out wide to Griffin Dorsey, who played a one-two with Justin Ellis to slip through on goal and volley home Orlando’s second equalizer of the night.
The tit-for-tat continued after the break, with the home side taking a third lead in the 58th minute via Marcos Zambrano’s effort from outside the box. Ellis then netted his second goal in as many games, slotting home a rebound off Tyrese Spicer’s cross to level the score in the 70th minute. The Lions then found the game-winner in stoppage time after Martín Ojeda played a ball over the back line to Spicer, who crossed a low, driven ball into the box for Zakaria Taifi to tap in and send his side to its first U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal appearance since 2022.
Orlando City will continue its four-game road stint on Saturday night as they head south to take on intrastate rivals Inter Miami CF at Nu Stadium. The match will air live on Apple TV and FS1, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
21’ Malcolm Fry (Eric Klein) – NE 1, ORL 0
31’ Iago (Tiago) – ORL 1, NE 1
37’ Andrew Farrell (Gabe Dahlin) – NE 2, ORL 1
39’ Griffin Dorsey (Justin Ellis) – ORL 2, NE 2
58’ Marcos Zambrano-Delgado (Eric Klein) – NE 3, ORL 2
70’ Justin Ellis – ORL 3, NE 3
90+2’ Zakaria Taifi (Tyrese Spicer) – ORL 4, NE 3
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“A lot of happiness because of the result, especially [because of], like I said last week, the effort of the players. I think the effort of the players a couple of days ago, today, every game, I think that’s the biggest point to highlight. I think we have an amazing group of players and when they need to show up, they do it, even during our transitional process. They do it, they get the result. The [U.S. Open] Cup is not easy. I respect the Open Cup and I respect the opponent, so happy happy for the result.”
Match Notes
- Homegrown Justin Ellis scored his second career goal as a Lion across all competitions. It marked his second goal in as many games after scoring in Orlando’s 3-2 loss at D.C. United on Saturday.
- Ellis also provided the assist on Griffin Dorsey’s finish, his second helper all-time across all competitions. In all, Ellis has now recorded three goal contributions in his last three games for the Lions across all competitions (2g,1a).
- U22 initiative defender Iago scored his first goal for the Lions across all competitions since joining the club this offseason from Brazil’s CR Flamengo.
- Forward Tiago provided his fourth Orlando City assist of the year, providing the cross on Iago’s tally.
- Defender Griffin Dorsey, acquired via trade from Houston Dynamo FC in the offseason, scored his first goal as a Lion.
- Homegrown defender Zakaria Taifi scored his first career goal for Orlando.
- Forward Tyrese Spicer recorded the assist on Taifi’s stoppage-time game-winner, marking his second goal contribution in as many games for the Lions across all competitions.
- The match marked Orlando City B midfielder Ignacio Gomez’s first start with the Lions’ senior team, having been signed to a short-term agreement for the match.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made four changes to the lineup from the Lions’ previous match against D.C. United, with Griffin Dorsey, Colin Guske, Ignacio Gomez and Javier Otero entering the starting XI.
- Defender David Brekalo (lower leg) and Nolan Miller (knee), midfielders Eduard Atuesta (shoulder) and Joran Gerbet (knee) and forwards Duncan McGuire (lower leg) and Marco Pašalić (thigh) all missed the match due to injury.
