Orlando City prolongs Nashville SC's misery

Field Level Media|published: Sat 31st August, 22:12 2024

Aug 31, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Nashville SC midfielder Anibal Godoy (20) controls the ball from Orlando City midfielder Cesar Araujo (5) in the first half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Facundo Torres scored a brace to lead Orlando City to a 3-0 win over visiting Nashville SC on Saturday in Florida.

Orlando City are 5-1-1 in their last seven matches, including a pair of victories over Nashville (6-13-8, 26 points) during that hot stretch. Orlando (10-10-7, 37 points) earned another 3-0 shutout in its previous match with Nashville on July 17.

Lions goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was in the net for both that clean sheet and Saturday's result. Gallese made two saves Saturday to earn his sixth shutout of the season.

Ivan Angulo opened the scoring for Orlando in the 10th minute, and Torres bolstered the lead with his third multi-goal match of the season. Torres leads Orlando City with 10 regular-season goals, and eight of those tallies have come in his last 10 matches.

Nashville is 0-8-0 in their last eight regular-season matches, the longest losing streak in the franchise's five MLS seasons. Nashville hasn't scored in the last four of those defeats, and opponents have outscored Nashville by a 21-3 margin over the eight matches.

An awkward clearance attempt from Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis led to the Lions' first goal in the 10th minute. Martin Ojeda intercepted Willis' pass and sent the ball right in front to Angulo, who buried the chance for his fourth goal of the season.

Ojeda sparked things again four minutes later with a slick move near midfield to evade Tah Brian Anunga. That set up a nice passing play down the field for Orlando, and Torres finished with a left-footed shot.

Orlando City's surge came amid some early pressure from Nashville. Alex Muyl had a pair of near-misses in the first eight minutes, while Sam Surridge put a header off the goalpost in the 20th minute.

Torres sealed Orlando's victory with another goal in the 85th minute. Duncan McGuire found a wide-open Torres in the box, and Torres expertly placed a shot under the crossbar.

Nashville's Jacob Shaffelburg left in the 57th minute with a possible leg injury.

--Field Level Media