Wednesday, June 24
Miami, FL – Miami FC battled until the final whistle Wednesday night at Pitbull Stadium, but Orange County SC used a strong second-half performance to earn a 4-2 victory on Father’s Night.
Miami started brightly and was rewarded early for its attacking intent. After applying pressure from the opening minutes, Alessandro Milesi found the breakthrough in the 12th minute, finishing from a difficult angle to give Miami a 1-0 advantage.
The hosts continued to push forward throughout the first half and looked comfortable after taking the lead. Orange County gradually settled into the match and began creating opportunities of its own, forcing Felipe Rodriguez into an important save before eventually finding an equalizer through Yaniv Bazini in the 44th minute.
The sides entered halftime level at 1-1 after an entertaining opening forty-five minutes that featured chances at both ends of the field.
Orange County came out aggressively after the break and took its first lead of the night in the 55th minute through Stephen Kelly. The visitors extended their advantage five minutes later when Bazini scored his second goal of the match to make it 3-1.
Despite the setback, Miami continued to push forward in search of a response. The hosts nearly found it midway through the second half when Alessandro Milesi rose highest on a corner kick and rattled the crossbar, leaving Miami inches away from cutting into the deficit.
Head Coach Gaston Maddoni turned to his bench looking for a spark, and the substitutes helped change the tempo of the match. Diego Mello provided energy in the attacking third, while Mathieu Ndongo made an immediate impact after entering the game.
The breakthrough came in the 82nd minute when Diego Mello delivered a cross into the area and Ndongo powered home a header to bring Miami within one goal and set up a tense finish.
With momentum building, Miami committed numbers forward in search of an equalizer. Gerald Díaz, Joel Soñora, Diego Mello and Arney Rocha all helped generate pressure in the closing stages as the hosts pushed for a late breakthrough.
However, Orange County capitalized on a counterattack deep into stoppage time, with Efren Solis adding a fourth goal to secure the result for the visitors.
Despite the outcome, Miami showed resilience throughout the evening and continued fighting until the final whistle. The hosts created several dangerous opportunities, hit the crossbar, and nearly completed a late comeback before the visitors sealed the result in stoppage time.
Miami FC will now prepare for a road matchup against Birmingham Legion FC on July 5 before returning home to Pitbull Stadium on July 11. Tickets for Miami FC’s next home match are available now at MiamiFC.com or by calling 844-MIAMIFC.
