Orlando City let two leads slip from their grasp and looked ready to settle for a frustrating loss. Then, Jonathan Spector came to the rescue.
Spector scored a goal four minutes into second-half stoppage time to save Orlando from defeat in a 3-3 draw against the Montreal Impact on Saturday night. Spector's nodded effort came after an Ignacio Piatti brace in the second half had flipped the script on the Lions, and it prevented the home side from suffering their second league defeat at Orlando City stadium this year.
The Eastern Conference brawl ended with a dramatic tying goal, but started with plenty of action. Matias Perez Garcia opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Blerim Dzemaili found the Montreal equalizer in the 16th minute. Carlos Rivas put Orlando City ahead again in the first half, only to see Piatti's brace give the Impact the lead before Spector struck for his first MLS goal.
Goals
- 8' – ORL – Matias Perez Garcia Watch
- 16' – MTL – Blerim Dzemaili Watch
- 23' – ORL – Carlos Rivas Watch
- 58' – MTL – Ignacio Piatti Watch
- 59' – MTL – Ignacio Piatti Watch
- 90+4' – ORL – Jonathan Spector Watch
Three Things
- OPEN YOUR ACCOUNT: What a time, what a way to score your first goal. Jonathan Spector opened his Orlando City account in dramatic fashion, perfectly heading home a corner kick in the 94th minute to save his side from defeat. The goal not only rescued the Lions and opened Spector's account, but helped him make up for a costly error earlier in the match.
- DYNAMIC DUO: While the Montreal Impact will rue their inability to close out a win, they can take plenty of positives from the latest strong outing from their attacking duo. Ignacio Piatti and Blerim Dzemaili caused Orlando City fits all night, especially in the second half when a Piatti brace recorded about 60 seconds apart gave Montreal the lead. The Impact may not have been able to protect it, but MLS defenses needed to be on high alert about just how good this Piatti-Dzemaili combination is.
- THAT WAS FUN: Both clubs may feel like they could have walked away with three points from this one, but regardless this was ab entertaining affair. Three goals were scored in the opening 23 minutes, and attacking soccer was on display throughout. Tempers began to boil over towards the end of the match, but it all made things more dramatic leading up to Spector's leveler.
Next Up
- ORL: Wednesday, June 21 – at Seattle Sounders (10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE)
- MTL: Canadian Championship: Wednesday, June 21 – vs. Toronto FC (7:30 pm ET | TSN in Canada)
