ORLANDO, Fla. (May 21, 2025) – Orlando City SC fell to Nashville SC 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday night in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. With the loss, the Lions’ 12-match unbeaten streak across all competitions came to an end, tying the Club record last set in 2020.
Forward Marco Pašalić gave Orlando City an early lead with his seventh goal of the year, with the assist coming from the homegrown defender Alex Freeman. Nashville SC then scored two straight, before forward Ramiro Enrique tied things up 13 minutes into the second half with his third goal of 2025. Pašalić helped set up the Argentine international’s goal, recording his third assist in an Orlando City uniform. Nashville scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 79th minute.
The Lions will remain in the City Beautiful this weekend as they host visitors from the Western Conference Portland Timbers on Saturday, May 24. Orlando City will look to continue its unbeaten streak in league play, currently at 11 matches, heading into Saturday’s contest. Kickoff from Inter&Co Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with the match airing live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Scoring Summary:
17’ Marco Pašalić (Alex Freeman) – ORL 1, NSH 0
Forward Marco Pašalić opened the scoring for Orlando City in the 17th minute to put the Lions ahead. After receiving a pass from defender Alex Freeman on the right side of the field, Pašalić cut in to the middle, onto his preferred left foot and past the defender before ripping a shot into the top right corner of the net for the first goal of the match.
23’ Rodrigo Schlegel (Own Goal) – ORL 1, NSH 1
Nashville would tie things up just six minutes later. After receiving the ball at the top right corner of the box, midfielder Matthew Corcoran fed the ball to forward Ahmed Qasem who then slid a pass towards forward Teal Bunbury inside the six-yard box. Orlando City defender Rodrigo Schlegel slid to make a block on Bunbury, but the ball deflected off of his foot and into the net.
40’ Ahmed Qasem (Matthew Corcoran) – NSH 2, ORL 1
Nashville grabbed the lead in the 40th minute with a goal from forward Ahmed Qasem. Midfielder Matthew Corcoran passed the ball to Qasem, who was positioned just above the Orlando box. The Swedish international then dribbled into the box before curling a low-driven shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
58’ Ramiro Enrique (Marco Pašalić) – ORL 2, NSH 2
Orlando City leveled the score with a goal from forward Ramiro Enrique. Positioned out on the right flank, forward Marco Pašalić received the ball and immediately fed it to Enrique behind two Nashville defenders. Enrique then converted on a first-touch finish that found the back of the net for the Lions’ second of the night.
79’ Wyatt Meyer (Patrick Yazbek) – NSH 3, ORL 2
The Coyotes retook the lead in the 79th minute with a goal from Wyatt Meyer. Following a back-heel pass from midfielder Patrick Yazbek that led Meyer into space, the midfielder struck the ball and sent in a curler past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“I think it was a good match for two teams. You have an offensive proposal or initiative; I think early in the game we found a team in Nashville that wanted to use the spaces offensively and we didn’t find the team who wants to drop and I have to say that they did a good job in that part, so we ended up playing the first half lower than we wanted and despite our goal, our offensive was probably not as frequent as we wanted. But still, I think throughout the game we played well, we should have had more energy at the beginning of the second half. I told the boys ‘We started with that energy, but we didn’t keep it’ and then the goals, after our review, we scored good goals, and they ended up scoring good goals in the end. I have no complaints in this moment from that.”
Match Notes
- With his 17th-minute goal, forward Marco Pašalić scored his seventh all-time for Orlando City across all competitions.
- With the assist on Pašalić’s opener, defender Alex Freeman recorded his second assist of the 2025 campaign and third all-time.
- Forward Ramiro Enrique scored his third goal of the season and 19th all-time for Orlando City across all competitions.
- With the assist on Enrique’s goal in the 58th minute, Marco Pašalić provided his third assist for Orlando City across all competitions.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to the Starting XI after his side’s last match against Inter Miami CF, with Ramiro Enrique and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson returning to the starting lineup.
