The 2020 Orlando City SC season was the club's 10th season of existence in Orlando and sixth season as a Major League Soccer franchise, the top-flight league in the United States soccer league system. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Open Cup was canceled.
Season review
Pre-season On October 7, 2019, one day after the final game of the 2019 season, Orlando City parted ways with head coach James O'Connor.
With the addition of Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF in 2020, MLS held an Expansion Draft on November 19, 2019. Orlando City had 13 players exposed. None were taken.
On November 21, 2019, it was announced that a total of 14 players would not return either because their contract had expired, they had their contract option declined or, in the case of Danilo Acosta, they returned to their parent club after their loan expired. Orlando City had an option to buy Acosta at the end of the loan but declined. However, Ruan had his purchase option exercised following his loan in 2019. Another notable departure was Cristian Higuita who had been the sole remaining member of the team's inaugural MLS roster in 2015 and departed as the club's leading appearance maker with 108 across all competitions. Having initially had their options declined, Uri Rosell, Alex DeJohn and Mason Stajduhar all later renegotiated new contracts with Orlando.
On December 4, 2019, Óscar Pareja was announced as Orlando City's new head coach. Pareja had previously worked with Orlando's VP of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi at FC Dallas.
Having emphasized the importance Homegrown players the previous offseason, Orlando signed the sixth and seventh Homegrown players in club history in December, signing David Loera following his junior year at NC State and Jordan Bender from USL affiliate Orlando City B.
The team also did a significant amount of recruiting in South America, bringing in Colombian midfielder Andrés Perea, Argentine defender Rodrigo Schlegel and Brazilian defender Antônio Carlos all on one-year loans from Atlético Nacional, Racing Club and Palmeiras respectively while Brazilian midfielder Júnior Urso joined permanently from Corinthians. Peruvian international goalkeeper Pedro Gallese also joined on a free having last played for Alianza Lima, on loan from Veracruz.
On January 9, Orlando made five selections in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft including one in the first round. Fifth-overall pick Daryl Dike was automatically signed due to his Generation Adidas status while Joey DeZart was later given a contract. Austin Aviza and Nick O'Callaghan were signed to Orlando City B.
On January 17, Orlando officially opened the new Orlando City SC Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park.
February Orlando's sixth MLS campaign began at home to Real Salt Lake on February 29, a repeat of the 2016 season opener. Just like 2016, the game once again finished level, this time goalless as debutant goalkeeper Pedro Gallese kept Orlando's first clean sheet in nine games stretching back to the previous season. The result meant Orlando remained unbeaten on matchday one since joining MLS. The game was also notable for the substitute appearance of on loan Andrés Perea who became the first person born in the 21st century to play for Orlando City SC.
March March 7 saw Orlando's first away game of 2020. It ended in a 2–1 defeat to Colorado Rapids as Drew Moor headed a 90th-minute winner from a corner after substitute Chris Mueller had scored the team's first goal of the season to tie up the game in the 82nd minute. It was the first time Orlando had lost to Colorado in the two teams' six meetings.
COVID-19 pandemic On March 12 it was announced that the 2020 Major League Soccer season had been temporarily suspended for 30 days on the advice of public health authorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the situation developing, the suspension was extended until at least June 8. On May 6, MLS allowed voluntary individual workouts on outdoor fields for the first time since the suspension. Every Orlando City player opted to train at the team's Kissimmee training facility.
MLS is Back Tournament On June 10, MLS announced a return to play via a one-off MLS is Back Tournament. The competition ran from July 8 to August 11 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Orlando's first match was the tournament opener, scheduled against newly created Florida rivals Inter Miami CF. Orlando won the game 2–1 after trailing thanks to goals from Mueller with his second goal of the season and then a 90+7-minute winner from captain Nani in his first appearance of the year. In the second game Mueller scored twice in the opening ten minutes as Orlando earned back to back MLS wins for the first time since May 2018, running out 3–1 winners over New York City FC with Tesho Akindele also scoring his first goal of the season during the match. The result, coupled with Philadelphia Union beating Inter Miami later that evening, meant Orlando sealed qualification to the knockout round with a game to spare. A 1–1 draw against similarly already-qualified Philadelphia in the final group game, in which Mauricio Pereyra scored his first goal for the club, ensured Orlando finished top of Group A on goal difference.
Orlando faced Montreal Impact, who qualified as one of the best third-place teams, in the round of 16. Orlando won 1–0, earning their first shutout of the tournament and second of the season. The team progressed to the semi-final stage following a penalty shootout win over Los Angeles FC with the teams tied 1–1 after 90 minutes. Nani had a penalty saved by Kenneth Vermeer in the second half before Bradley Wright-Phillips opened the scoring shortly after. João Moutinho forced the shootout, scoring an equalizer against his former club off a Nani corner in the 90th minute, his first goal for Orlando City. Nani went on to score the decisive penalty in the 5–4 shootout victory with every Orlando player scoring their penalty. For the semi-final, Orlando City matched up against Minnesota United FC, coached by Adrian Heath who had led Orlando City's USL predecessor to two USL Pro titles and had remained unbeaten against the Lions in three previous meetings since his 2016 sacking. However, a first half Nani brace and a second half Benji Michel stoppage time goal earned Orlando a 3–1 win and booked their place in the final. Portland Timbers won the final 2–1. Nani, João Moutinho and Ruan were all later named to the tournament Best XI.
August On August 19, following the return of the MLS regular season in home markets, Orlando City announced that all three phase one games at Exploria Stadium would be open to fans at a reduced capacity and that face coverings would be mandatory for those in attendance. They were one of only five teams (with Dallas, Montreal, Real Salt Lake and Sporting KC) to confirm fans could attend during phase one. Phase one consisted of Orlando playing three regional opponents both home and away: Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC and Atlanta United FC. The first of these was a 3–2 defeat away to Inter Miami on August 22, the new expansion franchise's first home match and subsequently their first victory having lost all five of their previous matches. It was also notable for the first senior career goal scored by Orlando's first-round rookie Daryl Dike. In the following game, Dike scored another two goals as Orlando won 3–1 in their first meeting with Nashville SC. The game was the first to kick off on August 26, with the other ten teams scheduled to play that evening later deciding to postpone in solidarity with sports teams from other leagues, including the NBA, WNBA and MLB, who refused to play in protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23. Three days later, Orlando traveled to Atlanta and earned their first ever win over their rivals when Urso opened the scoring with his first goal for the club. Mueller doubled Orlando's lead before the halftime break and while Brooks Lennon halved the lead in the 83rd minute, Nani immediately restored the cushion to help seal a 3–1 victory.
September On September 2, Orlando traveled to Nashville, this time playing out a 1–1 draw with the expansion side when Nashville DP Randall Leal scored his first goal for the club to rescue a point for the hosts following Michel's first half rocket from outside the box which had opened the scoring. On September 5, Orlando's second matchup with Atlanta inside a week ended in a 1–1 draw after Adam Jahn scored a stoppage time equalizer. After playing five games in a 15-day stretch, Orlando had a full week break before the final phase one match on September 12: Miami's first visit to Exploria Stadium. Orlando won 2–1, ending Miami's club-record three game unbeaten streak in the process. The game included a dramatic series of officiating calls whereby referee Ismail Elfath awarded a penalty to Miami after consulting the video screen, sending Rodrigo Schlegel off for second yellow card on Julián Carranza in the process before both were rescinded after officials realized Carranza was offside, negating the play. With the conclusion of the phase one home and away series, Orlando hosted Chicago Fire FC on September 19, winning 4–1 and equaling the club record streak of six games unbeaten in regular season MLS play in the process. The record was broken on September 23 when Orlando beat Sporting Kansas City 2–1 thanks to first half goals from Akindele and Michel. Johnny Russell halved the home team's deficit early in the second half but the Lions held out to also maintain the club's 100% win record when leading by two goals in MLS history. On September 27, Pareja coached against FC Dallas for the first time since ending his five-year head coaching spell with the Texas club in November 2018. The game finished goalless with Orlando playing down a man from the 69th minute after Sebas Méndez became the first Lion to be sent off in 2020.
October