The Orlando City SC scouting crew never looked better than when the Lions took the pitch in Nashville.
They’re bringing top team contributors from Orlando City B. They’re signing young talent who prove pitch-ready. All of a sudden, they’ve defeated Nashville SC 1-0 and constructed back-to-back clean sheets in what looked like a lost season.
Orlando won just four of their first 15 games.
It’s always inadvisable to make much out of two games. But Orlando City players have come out of the World Cup break and held two top MLS squads scoreless. Nashville SC, the recent opposition, holds first in the MLS Eastern Conference. The previous clean sheet, the San Jose Earthquakes, were tied for first in the West but then technically slid to third.
As exciting as the 4-0 rout of San Jose was, defeating Nashville is much more significant. The Tennessee team is unbeaten in 21 of 25 matches across all competitions. The Lions handed them just their second loss in 17 MLS losses this season.
Lions forward Justin Ellis was playing for the B team earlier this season. Now he’s racking up goal contributions. Against Nashville, he posted the first assist for Tyrese Spicer’s goal in the 72nd minute. It’s his fifth assist of the season, second-most on the team. He has three assists in his two most recent matches.
Adrian Marin got the second assist. It’s his fourth of the regular season and fifth across all competitions.
Spicer took the pitch in the second half. His game-winning score, the third MLS goal of the season, is the second-most on the team.
It was Spicer’s 60th MLS appearance and 20th for the Lions. But it doesn’t seem that long ago that Lions supporters questioned what the front office was doing in acquiring him from Toronto FC.
In 2025, he quickly set a newcomers’ record by scoring one minute, 10 seconds into their match with Sporting Kansas City. In that 3-1 win for Orlando, Spicer became the fastest player to score in a debut for the team.
In preserving a clean sheet against Nashville, Orlando’s backline served as the strong and mostly silent stars of the show. That backline included Bernardo Rhein in his first MLS start. He started his First Team contract only days ago.
The players must continue to execute to make something of this season. And everything they do proves the scouts right in banking on a miraculous turnaround in fortune for Orlando City SC.
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