Orlando City looked sluggish at times in a 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew on a rainy Saturday night, but the Lions held on to earn a valuable MLS point at home.

“We played really well. We had a difficult opponent. They also did really well, so it was a difficult game,” Orlando City forward Marco Pašalić said. “I’m happy that we took one point. It’s better than no point.”

Seventh in the Eastern Conference, Orlando City (14-7-11, 53 points) is three points behind fourth-place Charlotte FC with two games remaining in the regular season in the Lions’ effort to improve their playoff slot.

Columbus (13-8-12, 51 points) opened the scoring in the 32nd minute off the boot of Andres Herrera. Lassi Lappalainen’s cross found Herrera in the box, and he had no trouble poking it past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

The Lions wasted no time hitting back, levelling it at 1-1 in the 34th minute. Luis Muriel’s shot was saved by Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, but he was unable to keep control of the ball. Pašalić latched on to the rebound, smashing it home to even the score.

The goal was Orlando City’s 60th on the season, a club record.

Columbus outshot the Lions 20-10 but had just a 6-4 advantage with shots on target. Duncan McGuire and Tyrese Spicer looked electric as second-half substitutes, but they were unable to help Orlando City find a winner.

“People expect a lot of goals from us because we score a lot. So when you score in one game only one goal, the people ask, ‘What happened?’” Pašalić added. “But in my opinion, Columbus is a good team like the other teams we fight for the playoff [positions] with.”

The Lions held on strong defensively in the second half to keep the Crew from adding a second tally. Adrian Marin was particularly impressive at left back, winning all of his aerial duels and creating two chances going forward.

 

 

 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/05/orlando-city-salvages-home-draw-vs-columbus/