Torres, Ojeda, Gallese lead Orlando City past Charlotte in playoff opener

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Facundo Torres scored in the first half, Martin Ojeda found the net in the second, and Pedro Gallese notched his fourth postseason clean sheet to lead Orlando City to a 2-0 victory over Charlotte FC on Sunday night in a best-of-three first-round match for the MLS Cup.

Orlando City, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute and carried it into halftime when the club's all-time leading scorer Torres scored unassisted with a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the top left corner of the goal. It was his club-record 19th goal this season across all competitions.

Orlando City took a two-goal lead in the 76th minute when Martin Ojeda scored with assists from Iván Angulo and César Araújo. It was the first postseason goal for Ojeda in his first start and third appearance. Angulo's helper was his first in five playoff appearances — all starts. Araújo's assist was his second in five postseason starts.

Gallese finished with two saves for Orlando City. He has allowed eight goals in seven postseason starts — all with OC.

Kristijan Kahlina saved five shots for fifth-seeded Charlotte. Kahlina's only postseason appearance came last season when he started in a 5-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls.

A club-record 14 players scored for OC, leading to a club-record 59 goals during the regular season.

Orlando City played Charlotte to a 2-2 draw on the road and a 2-0 victory at home during the regular season. Torres and Duncan McGuire had the OC goals in both matches.

The series resumes on Friday in Charlotte, which had never been past the wildcard round until this season. The club closed out the regular season with a 4-0-1 record in its last five matches with the draw coming against top-seed Inter Miami.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer