Tyrese Spicer Strikes Off the Bench as Orlando City End Nashville SC's 10-Match Unbeaten Run 1-0

Tyrese Spicer spent 53 minutes on the bench and 19 more waiting for his moment. When it came, he did not overthink it. Justin Ellis slid the ball into his path on the left side of the box, Spicer swept a low left-footed finish into the bottom left corner, and Inter&Co Stadium erupted.

That 72nd-minute goal was all Orlando City SC needed in a 1-0 win over Nashville SC on Saturday night, a result that ended Nashville's 10-match unbeaten run. The Supporters' Shield leaders had won five straight coming in. They left Central Florida with nothing after a night that started with a 76-minute weather delay, according to Nashville, and finished in front of a crowd of 24,453.

Storm Clouds, Then a Slow Burn

When play finally got going, the first half was a game of near-misses with a heavy Orlando lean. Antoine Griezmann, in his first official match at the stadium, crossed for an Ellis header in the 15th minute, and Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake made the save from very close range. Ellis then pulled a shot just wide to the left from the center of the box in the 22nd minute, and Griezmann sent a left-footed effort high and wide six minutes later.

The Lions kept knocking. Ellis forced Schwake into another save in the 35th minute, while Griezmann and Braian Ojeda each had shots blocked before the break. Ellis tried once more from outside the box in first-half stoppage time, and Schwake saved that one, too.

Nashville's best chance of the half came out of nowhere. In the 42nd minute, Andy Nájar threaded a through ball to Alex Muyl, whose shot from very close range was saved by Maxime Crépeau. Play was stopped for an injury to Muyl shortly after, and Ahmed Qasem replaced him at halftime. It was 0-0 at the break.

The Bench Wins It

Orlando interim coach Martín Perelman turned to Spicer in the 53rd minute, replacing Tiago. Shak Mohammed got a shot away from the center of the box in the 63rd minute, but Crépeau was there again.

Then came the move that decided it. Orlando's recap described Adrián Marín, on as a 70th-minute substitute, picking out Ellis between Nashville's lines. Ellis dribbled past several defenders and found Spicer's run, and the finish was clinical. ESPN credited Ellis with the assist, while Orlando also credited Marín with a secondary assist.

Nashville spent the final 18 minutes searching for an equalizer. Josh Bauer headed an Edvard Tagseth corner delivery wide in the 89th minute, and Qasem had a shot blocked in the second minute of stoppage time. Six minutes of added time came and went, a late VAR check came and went too, and Orlando had knocked off the league leaders.

The Difference-Makers

Tyrese Spicer had one shot all night, and it was the one that mattered. Orlando said it was his third MLS goal of the season, and it came in his 60th career MLS appearance.

Justin Ellis was the engine. The 18-year-old rookie took six shots, put three on target and provided the winning assist, his fifth of the MLS season according to the club. He also has three assists in two matches since the break. Ellis was replaced by Harvey Sarajian because of an injury in the 85th minute. MLSsoccer.com put him in its Team of the Matchday starting lineup and picked Perelman as that team's coach.

Maxime Crépeau made two saves, one of them from very close range, and Orlando said the shutout was the 29th MLS clean sheet of his career.

Antoine Griezmann did not get on the scoresheet, but he was in the middle of everything, setting up chances for Ellis and Ojeda and taking three shots of his own.

Brian Schwake kept Nashville in it with three saves, all of them on Ellis. Nashville named Andy Nájar its Man of the Match, and he set up both of the club's shots on goal.

Spicer was clear about where the goal came from. "I was yelling his name as loud as I could, telling him to give it to me. As soon as I got the ball, I knew I had to score. After that, it was just muscle memory," he said, per Orlando City.

The Turning Point

Perelman's 53rd-minute change. Orlando had peppered Schwake for an hour without a breakthrough, and the coach went to his bench rather than waiting it out. Spicer made the run, Ellis found him, and the hour of frustration was over. Perelman shrugged off the tactical credit afterward. "We always try to adjust. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think at the end of the day it is the players," he said.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Orlando 12, Nashville 7.
• Shots on goal: Orlando 4, Nashville 2.
• Possession: Nashville held a slight edge at 51.9 percent.
• Corners: Nashville won 7 to Orlando's 2 and still could not convert.
• Clearances: Orlando made 22, a busy night for Robin Jansson and company.

What It Means

Orlando improved to 6-2-9 with 20 points and has now won both matches since the World Cup break without conceding, including a 4-0 rout at San Jose in midweek. The club also said it was the first time Orlando started three teenagers in an MLS match, with Bernardo Rhein, Ellis and Luis Otávio in the lineup, and that Rhein, 18, made his first career MLS start. Next up is a trip to Red Bull New York on Aug. 1.

Nashville fell to 12-3-2 with 39 points and, per the club, remains first in MLS. It was only the second league loss of the season for the Boys in Gold, and their first since a 1-0 defeat at Chicago on April 4. Nashville had crushed Orlando 5-0 at home in March, so this one stings a little extra. Nashville visits D.C. United on Aug. 1.

The Closing Take

Griezmann summed up the mood at full time. "We showed that we're a strong team, and I think that's what the fans want to see, a strong team that wins games," he said through an interpreter. For one Saturday night, Orlando looked exactly like that, and the best team in the league found out the hard way that this version of the Lions bites.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by Orlando City SC, Nashville SC and The Associated Press.