PHOTO BY MARK THOR VIA ORLANDO CITY SC
Orlando City SC beat Toronto FC 3-0 on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium, extending the club’s unbeaten streak to four games and keeping the Lions sixth in the Eastern Conference with nine games left in the regular season.
Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring just before halftime, meeting a cross from Zakaria Taifi with an insane acrobatic finish to score in his fifth consecutive match, bringing his regular season tally to eight goals. It marked the longest single-season goal-scoring streak in club history.
Rookie forward Harvey Sarajian doubled the lead in the 82nd minute, finishing a play started by Daryl Dike, who found him breaking into the box after a solo run past multiple defenders. Sarajian slotted the ball into the lower left corner for his first MLS goal.
Interim head coach Martín Perelman called it a tough game overall but said the team fought together and found a way to solve its difficulties and win at home, calling the result important given where Orlando sits in the season. Taifi, who grew up watching Griezmann, said he hesitated for a moment on the assist before recognizing the run and delivering the ball, calling the moment something he dreamed about as a kid. Sarajian described scoring his first MLS goal as surreal after grinding through opportunities with Orlando’s second team, crediting Dike’s pass and saying he wants to keep building on it.
Orlando City improves to 10-11-4 with 34 points and returns to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play Wednesday, September 16, traveling to face the Columbus Crew in the semifinals at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
