Orlando

Lions Continue Unbeaten Run With 3-1 Win Over New York Red Bulls

Published

4 years ago

October 3, 2020

Orlando City SC's Junior Urso (in purple) scored for the Lions with an assist from Chris Mueller in the 50th minute against the New York Red Bulls at Exploria Stadium Saturday. Photo: Willie David / Florida National News.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Source: Orlando City SC // Orlando City SC (8-2-5, 29 points) extended its Club-record unbeaten run to nine matches on Saturday afternoon, defeating the New York Red Bulls (6-7-2, 20 points) in a 3-1 victory at Exploria Stadium.

Antonio Carlos scored his first MLS goal in the match, adding the insurance goal in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time. Daryl Dike and Júnior Urso each found the back of the net for the Lions as well, with the 2020 MLS SuperDraft selection opening the scoring in the 24th minute and The Bear adding another in the 50th.

Defender Kyle Smith registered his first MLS goal contribution on the afternoon, earning the assist on Dike’s first half finish, while Homegrown signing David Loera made his MLS debut, entering the game in the 91st minute of play for Urso.

Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“It’s another important victory against a team who has had recently very good results and has shown a lot of versatility and dynamics in the way they attack. Today we did a great job on controlling that part for most of the game, even though there were moments in the second half especially where they pushed us back and we had to put our blocks lower than we wanted. Overall we had a very good, especially for the youngsters. I’m very glad to see Daryl [Dike] growing, Chris Mueller growing, Benji [Michel], the debut of David Loera today is important for the Club, a kid who comes from the Academy. All of those things just magnify our victory. We beat a good team, it was a very hard game, but I liked the performance and we should be proud.”

Scoring Recap:

24’ Daryl Dike (Kyle Smith, Mauricio Pereyra) – ORL 1, RBNY 0
City opened the scoring with Mauricio Pereyra finding Kyle Smith on the right flank, who lofted a ball into the box finding the head of Daryl Dike for the finish.

50’ Júnior Urso (Chris Mueller) – ORL 2, RBNY 0
The Lions doubled their advantage shortly after the halftime break, with Chris Mueller playing a through ball in behind the Red Bulls’ defense to a running Júnior Urso. The Bear bodied off his defender and took his space before ripping his shot over the head of goalkeeper David Jensen.

54’ Florian Valot – ORL 2, RBNY 1
The Red Bulls answered quickly with Florian Valot getting on the end of a deflected ball in the box to halve the deficit for the visitors.

90+5’ Antonio Carlos (Benji Michel, Nani) – ORL 3, RBNY 1
City sealed the victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Nani starting the play and sending Benji Michel through in behind the Red Bulls’ defense. The Homegrown then laid a ball across the face of goal to a wide-open Antonio Carlos, who tapped it in for his first MLS goal.

Match Notes:

The Lions extended their Club-record unbeaten streak to nine games with the victory.
Daryl Dike scored his fourth goal of the year in the contest, passing teammate Chris Mueller for second in Club history in goals scored by a Lions’ MLS SuperDraft selection in their debut season.
Júnior Urso scored his third goal of the season in the match, with Chris Mueller extending his team lead in assists with his sixth of the year on the finish.
Antonio Carlos scored his first MLS goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Benji Michel earning his second assist of the year on the goal.
Kyle Smith recorded his first MLS goal contribution with the assist on Dike’s 24th minute finish, while Mauricio Pereyra tallied his fifth in 2020 with the secondary.
David Loera made his MLS debut in the match, entering the game in the 91st minute for Júnior Urso.
With the secondary assist on Antonio Carlos’s stoppage time finish, Nani takes sole possession of third in assists in Club history with his 15th as a Lion to pass former City midfielder Yoshi Yotún.
Chris Mueller registered his 50th start in MLS regular-season play in the match.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja made three changes to his starting XI from the Lions’ last match against FC Dallas, with Kamal Miller, Andrés Perea and Daryl Dike earning the start on the afternoon.

Next Match: The Lions face a quick turnaround, traveling to Atlanta United FC on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. ET.

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NFL

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Published

2 months ago

October 30, 2024

Mike Brodsky

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Former UCF football players Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant have partnered with GMTM to launch their Search for Greatness Combine at UCF on Saturday, November 9th. They’re giving local athletes a chance to showcase their talents and explore new sports opportunities. Griffin will be inducted into the UCF Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 2nd, during halftime of the Arizona vs. UCF football game. He is remembered for his tenacity, setting an NFL Combine record with the fastest 40-yard dash by a linebacker, and playing four seasons in the NFL, overcoming the challenge of only having one hand. He is now training to make the USA Paralympic Track and Field Team and hopes to compete in the 2028 Olympics. Joey Grant, the co-founder and CEO of GMTM, is a former UCF team captain, playing mostly Center for the Knights from 2011-2015.

Participation at the upcoming combine is free and invite-only, targeting athletes over the age of 18. To be considered, athletes must submit a highlight video via GMTM’s platform, showcasing their athleticism. GMTM will evaluate submissions and invite the most promising athletes to participate in the combine. The goal for this year’s event is to get 1,000 athletes to submit videos and be part of the combine process. Athletes chosen will receive personalized invites with further instructions, including event time slots and details. The athletes will be evaluated for their key athletic traits, to identify opportunities for them across multiple Olympic sports or professional sports programs. To learn more, or to apply for the combine, visit: https://gmtm.com/articles/the-search-for-greatness-at-ucf-with-shaquem-griffin-what-you-need-to-know.

Florida National News spoke with Shaquem and Joey about the combine, college football in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, and Griffin’s hall of fame induction. You can watch the full interview here:

Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant interview

Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com and www.FloridaSportsChannel.com for more.

Florida

Scottie Scheffler Wins Second Red Cardigan at 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

10 months ago

March 10, 2024

Mike Brodsky

Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Scottie Scheffler wins his second red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. Scheffler first won the API in 2022.

Scottie Scheffler wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

The number one ranked golfer in the world, Scheffler finished at 15 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 66 today. Wyndham Clark finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Kurt Kitayama, did not make the cut, this weekend, finishing 7 over par after the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

Golf

Lydia Ko and Jeff McNeil win the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

Published

12 months ago

January 21, 2024

Mike Brodsky

Lydia Ko win the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Sunday, January 21, 2024. Photo by Harry Castiblanco / Florida National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Lake Nona resident, Lydia Ko, has won the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations LPGA Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, while Mets All-Star Second Baseman, Jeff McNeil, has won the celebrities and amateurs competition. The four day tournament wrapped up Sunday. Ko takes home $225,000 of the $1.5 million prize pool, while baseball player McNeil wins $100,000 of the $500,000 designated for the athletes and entertainers.

Lydia Ko and Jeff McNeil win the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Sunday, January 21, 2024. Photo by Harry Castiblanco / Florida National News

Ko finished at -14, two strokes ahead of Alexa Pano. Defending champion, Brooke Henderson, finished third at ten under par. McNeil ended with 138 points using the Modified Stableford scoring system, in his first time competing in this tournament. Annika Sorenstam finished in second place amongst the celebrity golfers, with 136. Former Major League Baseball pitchers Derek Lowe and Mark Mulder tied for third place at 135.

The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions also announced today that they have extended their agreement with the LPGA to continue this tournament at Lake Nona for another five years, with a 65% increase in the prize pool money.

Stay tuned to Florida National News for more, and be sure to follow our Florida National News page on Facebook for more photos and videos from the tournament.