The 2011 Orlando City SC season, marked the club's first season in existence, and their first year in the third-tier USL Pro League. Previously, the club was known as the Austin Aztex FC before they were relocated to Orlando, Florida. They won a double, winning the Commissioner's Cup as the top team in the league's regular season, and winning the USL Pro Championship.
Match results
Win Tie Loss
Friendlies
Orlando City's 2011 pre-season started with three games against Major League Soccer ("MLS") clubs. It won its first match, a 1–0 result against Philadelphia Union at the Citrus Bowl, with then-trainee Lewis Neal scoring the team's first goal. It also played a 4-team classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, drawing FC Dallas for its first match on February 24, a 0–1 loss. On February 26 they won again, this time against Toronto FC, a result of 1–0. This marked the club's second victory. Orlando City got the opportunity to play Swedish First Division side BK Häcken in a friendly at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on March 5. City played a hard-fought game, as the game ended in a 2–3 loss.
After playing the MLS teams, Orlando City then played a series of games against Florida college teams. They played Division IIrunner-upRollins College Tars on March 16 at the Cahall-Sandspur Field and Barker Family Stadium in Winter Park resulting in a 3–1 victory. They followed this game with a 5–1 victory over Division IUniversity of Central Florida Knights at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex in Orlando. Orlando City played on March 22 against Division I Stetson University Hatters in DeLand, FL, and the final pre-season game was on March 26 against Division I University of South Florida Bulls at the USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa.
Following a season-opening road loss to Richmond Kickers, Orlando City went on an 11-match undefeated run, closing the first half with a record of 8–1–3. Goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo had a league-high eleven clean sheets. The Lions finished with a 15–3–6 record, winning the 2011 Commissioner's Cup and home-field advantage throughout the USL Pro Playoffs.
Stadium: Citrus Bowl Attendance: 4,549 Referee: Carlos Sandoval
The Puerto Rico Soccer League teams (Sevilla FC Puerto Rico, River Plate Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico United) withdrew from USL Pro competition on May 9, 2011. Games played before then counted toward standings, but games scheduled thereafter were rescheduled with other teams. This affected two games for Orlando City: a June 24 away date against River Plate (rescheduled to Antigua), and a June 29 home date against Sevilla (rescheduled to August 3 vs Charleston).[1][2]
Orlando City did not give up a goal in its first 217 minutes of U.S. Open Cup competition in 2011, beating ASC New Stars of the USASA Houston Football Association in the first round, and Charleston Battery of USL Pro in the second round. After taking an early lead in its third round match against FC Dallas, a rematch from the WDW Pro Soccer Classic, Dallas scored twice and looked to cruise to the fourth round. Yordany Álvarez stunned Dallas keeper Kevin Hartman with a late equalizer in second half stoppage time, but a barrage of quick attempts on the restart led to a Milton Rodríguez game-winner right before the end of play to eliminate the Lions from the Open Cup.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
* = Denotes players who were retained after the move of the Austin Aztex FC organization to form Orlando City S.C.
Loans
Michael Tetteh was loaned to Orlando City on June 29, 2011[5] on a 10-day contract and returned to Seattle by July 12.[6]
Matt Luzunaris was loaned to Orlando City before July 16, 2011 game against Rochester for an unspecified time period and with San Jose reserving the right to recall.[7] Luzunaris scored goals in his first two games playing for City, against Rochester[8] and English Premier League team Bolton[9] Luzunaris was recalled by San Jose on August 2.[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Source: USL Pro official standings Rules for classification: Points, then tiebreak: 1) Head-to-head record based on total points in League games, 2) Total wins in League games, 3) Goal difference in League games, 4) Goals scored in League games, etc.[12] (A) Advances to USL Pro Playoffs; (C) Commissioner's Cup (best regular season record) Notes:
