Parks scores twice in second half, New York City FC rolls Orlando City 5-0

NEW YORK (AP) — Keaton Parks scored twice in the second half, and New York City FC rolled past Orlando City 5-0 on Saturday in its home opener.

New York City (2-1-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with the win. Orlando (0-0-3) played most of the game with 10 men after goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was sent off in the 16th minute with a red card.

NYCFC opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Agustin Ojeda finished from the center of the box on a pass from Maxi Moralez. Nicolas Fernández doubled the lead in the 42nd minute, scoring a header on Moralez’s cross. Moralez added a penalty in first-half stoppage time to give New York City a 3-0 advantage at the break.

Parks extended the lead early in the second half, finishing from close range in the 49th minute off a feed from Tayvon Gray. He added his second goal five minutes later with a left-footed shot from the center of the box to make it 5-0.

New York City dominated the pitch, holding 68% possession and outshooting Orlando 13-4.

The victory continued NYCFC’s strong run in the series. New York City is unbeaten in its last seven meetings with Orlando dating to 2022.

Up next

Orlando: faces Montreal next Saturday.

NYCFC: at Colorado next Saturday.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.