Orlando

Orlando City Falls in Interim Head Coach Murphy’s Home Debut

Published

8 years ago

June 23, 2018

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) - Orlando City fall to Montreal Impact 2-0 at home Saturday. Photo: Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – After making a lineup change in Wednesday’s US Open Cup victory over DC United, Bobby Murphy’s squad couldn’t find the net and fell at home to Montreal by the score of 2-0. Orlando City, who was playing their first home game in about a month, gave up an early own goal and lost for the 7th straight time in MLS regular season play.

Orlando City Defender Lamine Sane’ put the ball in his own net and gave the Impact a 1-0 lead 13 minutes into the game. After the own goal, City couldn’t get much going as the Impact dominated the scoring chances as they took the lead into halftime. Orlando’s Joe Bendik kept Montreal off the scoreboard for the rest of the half as he made key save after save.

“One, they did that. And fair play to them because we were in Montreal last week and it was 60 degrees. So they come down here and conserve energy after they get the goal and force us to break them down. To have as many new guys as we have- and I’m not making excuses for anybody- but to get the chemistry in attack, it takes time. It’s harder to score goals and we’ve got to just be better at it. That’s my job for right now.” – Orlando City Interim Head Coach Bobby Murphy on his team’s play after the own goal

In the second 45 minutes of play, Orlando City started to play with more passion and even had two chances to score. Sasha Kljestan’s attempt went wide in the 63rd minute and Sane’ had a chance of his own off a corner kick that ended up in the Impact goalkeepers hands.

Montreal put the game away in the 84th minute, when Ignacio “Nacho” Piatti’s goal was overturned by Instant Replay. The referee had called Piatti for offsides, but after a review from the booth, his goal put the game away. It came from an outstanding pass from Alejandro Silva and Piatti was left alone with Bendik.

“The reality is we’re still in a good spot. I don’t know what the results are tonight, if they’ve gone for us or against us but the reality is we are in a good position, we are in the playoffs. So we need to do whatever it takes to either get back in the playoffs or stay in the playoffs. We’re not in a bad position, yet. Obviously, the run of form has been really, really poor but we’re not in a terrible position.”- Orlando City Captain Jonathan Spector on the team’s current playoff position

Orlando City plays the next two games on the road as they take on Atlanta United and LAFC and returns home to take Toronto FC on July 14th.

Goals:

Montreal: Lamine Sane’ (own goal) – 13th minute
Montreal: Ignacio Piatti (Alejandro Silva and Saphir Taider)- 84th minute

Penalties:

Orlando – Sasha Kijestan (Yellow Card) – 58th minute

Shots:

Montreal – 12
Orlando – 8

Substitutions:

Orlando City
- Chris Mueller (Amro Tarek) – 62nd minute
- Scott Sutter (Will Johnson) – 66th minute
- PC (Donnie Toia) – 74th minute

Montreal
- Raheem Edwards (Matteo Mancosu) – 65th minute
- Victor Cabrera (Chris Duvall) – 77th minute
- Shamit Shome (Ken Krolicki) – 84th minute

____________________________________________

Danny Thompson is a sports contributor for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com

Golf

Russell Henley Wins Red Cardigan at 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

1 year ago

March 9, 2025

Mike Brodsky

Russell Henley wins the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Russell Henley wins his first 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. This is Henley’s fifth win on the PGA Tour.

Russell Henley is greeted by his family on the 18th green after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

Henley finished at 11 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 70 today. Collin Morikawa finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, finished today at 4 under par, tied for 11th place.

Scottie Scheffler tees off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for 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.

NFL

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

Published

2 years 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

2 years 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.