Cavalry FC’s maiden voyage on the continental stage came to an end on Tuesday night in Florida, as they finished their Concacaf Champions Cup first round tie with a 3-1 loss to Major League Soccer club Orlando City SC, who took the two-legged series 6-1 on aggregate.
Entering the match needing to score at least three goals, Cavalry made a few changes to the team that started leg one, as Fraser Aird and Bradley Kamdem came in as wingbacks and Myer Bevan started up front, with Tobias Warschewski and Ali Musse notably dropping to the bench. Orlando, meanwhile, rotated heavily; although they gave a first start to recent marquee signing Luis Muriel, they dropped first-leg goalscorers Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire, as well as typical starting goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
The Canadian Premier League side opened the match bravely, claiming the first few ventures into their opponents’ attacking third. They pressed high and managed to send a few crosses into the Orlando penalty area, although they couldn’t quite find a target to turn that into a shot. After the first 10 minutes, the hosts found their footing in the game as Cavalry settled more into their shape, which resulted in a few dangerous chances that the Cavs managed to fend off.
Charlie Trafford produced the closest first-half chance for Cavalry around the 26-minute mark, as he got his head on a corner from Fraser Aird but the ball skipped just wide of the net. Orlando, meanwhile, had their best opportunity about 10 minutes later when Ramiro Enrique got his head firmly to a cross at the edge of the six-yard box but Marco Carducci caught it just under the crossbar.
After the first half finished 0-0, both managers opted to turn to their bench during the interval. Cavalry boss Tommy Wheeldon Jr. decided to change shape and make aggressive substitutions, bringing Ali Musse and Tobias Warschewski in to replace Callum Montgomery and Shamit Shome and move to more of a 4-4-2 structure. Orlando gaffer Óscar Pareja, meanwhile. brought former Champions Cup winner Nico Lodeiro into the game.
The home side’s changes worked out quickly, as Muriel worked his way into the box just four minutes into the half and cut it across for Lodeiro, who needed just one touch to blast it in past Carducci and make the tie 4-0 on aggregate in favour of the Lions.
Not long after, though, the Cavs’ breakthrough moment arrived. William Akio cut into the penalty area from the left and played the ball along the ground through the six-yard box. It managed to get through the first defender and came toward Bevan, who held off his marker to redirect the ball in for Cavalry’s first ever Concacaf goal.
The euphoria of scoring did not last long for the Cavs unfortunately, though, as just over five minutes later Orlando’s Argentine forward Ramiro Enrique picked up the ball at the top of the box and curled an inch-perfect shot with his right foot well out of Carducci’s reach and into the top corner.
Cavalry kept going, doing all they could to try and find the net just one more time, but ultimately it wasn’t to be — Orlando City added one more goal for good measure as Kyle Smith smashed the ball past Carducci from just inside the box, as Orlando comfortably advance to the next round of the competition.
The visitors, however, left Inter&Co Stadium with pride, and plenty of lessons learned from their first Concacaf experience.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird (Brooks 79′), Kobza, Klomp, Montgomery (Warschewski 46′), Kamdem; Shome (Musse 46′), Trafford (Gutiérrez 62′), Camargo (Dias 68′); Bevan, Akio
Orlando City SC: Stajduhar; Santos (Salim 64′), Schlegel, Smith, Halliday; Martins, Cartagena (Lodeiro 46′), Mohammed (Araújo 46′); Ojeda (Torres 63′), Muriel (Lynn 79′), Enrique
Goals
49′ — Nicolás Lodeiro (Orlando City SC)
64′ — Myer Bevan (Cavalry FC)
71′ — Ramiro Enrique (Orlando City SC)
88′ — Kyle Smith (Orlando City SC)
Discipline
56′ — Yellow: Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)
