ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Inter Miami and Orlando City played to a scoreless tie on Friday night, marking the first time neither team scored a goal against the other.
All seven matches between the pair have either been drawn or decided by a one-goal margin.
Miami (6-9-5) missed a chance to win three straight matches for the first time in club history. Miami scored three times in each of its last two matches after netting three goals just twice in the club’s first 41 MLS matches, though one of those was against Orlando City.
Orlando (9-4-8) is unbeaten in its last six contests. The Lions are looking for consecutive wins for the first time since a three-match run in June, with the third win in that streak coming against Inter Miami.
"I thought it was a very competitive one like any other game in Major League Soccer, but this one against a team who had some momentum and they came here surely to compete for the three points. We did a good job, I thought our boys played well," said Lions Head Coach Oscar Pareja. "[It would have been] much better with the three points. We think we did enough to do it, but we have to accept it, take the point and understand that that’s the game. Great effort by our players, very competitive match. I could tell the urgency from both teams, but [I’m] proud to see our guys play the way they did today. We will keep going forward."
Match Notes:
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese recorded his fifth clean sheet of the season in his return to the lineup for the first time since July 25.
- The shutout served as the seventh on the year for the Club, tying a franchise record set in each of the 2015, 2017 and 2019 MLS campaigns.
- With the result, City extended its unbeaten run to six-consecutive matches, posting an undefeated record in MLS play through the month of August.
- Antonio Carlos tallied his 40th start as a Lion in the match in what also served as his 45th appearance.
- Benji Michel tallied his 30th start for the Club in the match, the only Lion to appear in every fixture this season.
- The tie served as the third-consecutive result for the Lions against the Herons, with a victory and a pair of draws through the trio of matches between the Florida-based sides this season.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to his starting lineup entering the match, with Gallese and Chris Mueller reentering the fold. The start served as the first for Gallese since July 25 at NYCFC.
Next Match: The Lions close out a three-game home stint on Saturday, Sept. 4, hosting Columbus Crew SC at Exploria Stadium in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.