Orlando City fought back from an early deficit Saturday night, earning a hard-fought 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati at Inter&Co Stadium as Tyrese Spicer scored shortly after halftime to bring the Lions level.
Cincinnati opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Pavel Bucha delivered a precise finish to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Bucha’s fifth of the MLS season, establishing a new career high for the midfielder. It also continued an impressive recent run for Bucha, who has scored three goals across his last four appearances in all competitions.
Just three minutes after the break, Spicer produced a moment of individual quality to pull the Lions even. The sequence began with Iván Angulo advancing the ball before finding 19-year-old rookie Justin Ellis. Ellis quickly played the ball into space for Spicer, who battled through pressure, got around Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano and chipped his finish under the crossbar.
The goal marked Spicer’s career-high fifth goal of the season, with Ellis recording his sixth assist and Angulo his eighth. From there, both teams had opportunities to find a winner, but neither goalkeeper was beaten again.
Maxime Crépeau finished with two saves for Orlando, while Celentano made four saves for Cincinnati. Orlando generated 17 shots and five shots on target, compared with 11 shots and three shots on target for Cincinnati. The Lions also held a 10-5 advantage in corner kicks.
The result gave Orlando City a valuable point at home while Cincinnati continued its strong recent stretch. FC Cincinnati moved to 7-6-6 on the season and is now 3-1-1 across its last five matches, while Orlando City sits at 6-10-3.
Cincinnati nearly regained the lead in the second half when it was initially awarded a penalty following a challenge involving Evander in the box. However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned, allowing Orlando to maintain the 1-1 scoreline.
Despite settling for a draw, Orlando showed resilience after falling behind against one of the Eastern Conference’s top-scoring teams. The Lions finished with 2.1 expected goals to Cincinnati’s 1.2, highlighting the number of chances Orlando created while searching for a second goal.
Neither side could find the decisive breakthrough during the final stages, and the points were ultimately shared.
FC Cincinnati returns home Wednesday, Aug. 19, to host New York City FC. Orlando City will also be back in action Wednesday, hosting the Chicago Fire at Inter&Co Stadium in MLS regular-season play.
