CARSON, Calif. (Aug. 20, 2025) – Orlando City SC defeated Deportivo Toluca in a penalty-kick shootout Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California following a scoreless draw. With the win, the Lions advance to the semifinals of the Leagues Cup and will take on intrastate rivals Inter Miami CF.
The match was a stalemate for the 90 minutes of regulation with neither side being able to find a breakthrough. The Lions put the ball in the back of the net on two separate occasions, but both times were called offsides. City’s defense held firm throughout the whole match allowing no shots on goal from Deportivo Toluca in the 90 minutes of action.
The game went to a penalty kick shootout that saw Pedro Gallese make two saves in the sixth and seventh rounds and then step up himself and score the game winning penalty to send the Lions to the semifinals in a 6-5 win.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“The game played here in LA caused is some troubles with the traveling coming from the South coast and crossing the country. Our purpose with the group, and I think the boys did great, is that we didn’t have that conflict. We didn’t want to have that excuse. It was hard as well for Toluca traveling here. It was not the case that we were thinking of. It was a competition that was neutral for both teams. We tried to measure some minutes for the boys that have had a lot of volume int eh last few games and traveling. Hopefully we can recover soon because we have an important game on Saturday as well. Now thinking about that semifinal and trying to measure it with how can we rotate and take care of the boys? The good thing is that it is easy when you get results to do that and it is much, much better."
Match Notes
- By advancing to the semifinals, the Lions have made it the furthest they ever have in Leagues Cup
- Orlando City will look to finish in the top three of the tournament, which will solidify their spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
- The Lions extended their unbeaten streak to eighth consecutive games across all competitions.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made three changes to the Starting XI after the side’s last match against Sporting Kansas City, with Iván Angulo, César Araújo and Alex Freeman returning to the starting lineup.
