Orlando City Defeats Reigning MLS Cup Champ Toronto 2-1 In James O’Connor’s Home Debut

By  //  July 15, 2018

Goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. earns first MLS win

ABOVE VIDEO: Hightlights from Orlando City SC win over Toronto FC. (MLS Video)

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (Orlando City) – In James O’Connor’s first home match as head coach, Orlando City SC (7-11-1, 22 points) defeated the defending MLS Cup champions Toronto FC (4-11-4, 16 points) 2-1 on Saturday at Orlando City Stadium.

Goalkeeper Earl Edwards, Jr. earned his first MLS win as Chris Schuler and Dom Dwyer scored.

“Obviously delighted that we were able to win. It’s really important that we got a win,” O’Connor said.

“There were some lovely passages, some really good movement. I thought we created a number of opportunities. We just need to be a little bit more clinical. But we can be really proud of the players’ effort tonight. I thought the level of commitment and the effort from the players was really, really good tonight.”

The Lions started the scoring in the 34th minute when Dwyer ripped a shot from distance that Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono couldn’t handle. The rebound popped out to Schuler, who calmly headed into the back of the net. It was Schuler’s first goal as a Lion.

City took its lead into halftime and added to it three minutes into the second frame. Dwyer collected a pass from rookie Chris Mueller, took space and drilled the bottom left corner for his eighth goal of the season.

Dwyer collected a pass from rookie Chris Mueller, took space and drilled the bottom left corner for his eighth goal of the season. (Orlando City SC Image)

Edwards, who was City’s third-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, was called upon for three saves in the match, his biggest coming in the 59th minute. With Toronto pressing to get back in the match, Michael Bradley lofted a longball over the Lions back line to Sebastian Giovinco, who brought it down with one touch before putting it on net. Edwards charged out to block the shot and preserve City’s two-goal lead.

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Nick Hagglund scored for Toronto in the 94th minute.

The Lions face a quick turnaround as they visit the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, July 18, in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal. City continues MLS play when it visits Columbus on Saturday before returning to Orlando City Stadium to host New York City FC on Thursday, July 26.

Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.

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