Zakaria Taifi scored in stoppage time to seal a 4-3 victory for Orlando City SC over the New England Revolution on April 29, 2026 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., sending Orlando into the quarterfinals of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The scoreline told the story of a match that swung back and forth: New England opened the scoring in the 21st minute through Malcolm Fry, but Orlando equalized in the 31st when Iago headed in a Tiago free kick. Andrew Farrell put New England back in front in the 37th minute, only for Griffin Dorsey to level at 2-2 two minutes later after a one-two with Justin Ellis. Marcos Zambrano-Delgado restored New England’s lead in the 58th minute, and Justin Ellis converted a rebound in the 70th to make it 3-3. Taifi’s goal in the 90+2 minute completed Orlando’s comeback and sent the visitors through 4-3.
The win advances Orlando City SC to the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals for the first time since 2022 and sets up a Saturday-night meeting with Inter Miami CF at Nu Stadium. The result also capped a game in which Orlando erased three separate deficits — a rare string of recoveries that kept the match alive until the final moments.
Orlando’s coach said afterward he was very happy with the result and repeatedly pointed to the players’ effort as the deciding factor, highlighting the group’s willingness to show up even amid what he called a transitional process. He added that he respects the Open Cup and the opponent and that the team’s recent efforts were the biggest point to emphasize.
Statistically, the win reads as a razor-thin survival: New England led in the 21st, 37th and 58th minutes, and Orlando matched each advantage with equalizers at 31, 39 and 70. The repeated come-from-behind pattern made each period feel like a new game; every restart carried consequence, and the stoppage-time finish underscored how little margin either side left itself.
The tension in the match was simple and relentless — Orlando’s resilience met New England’s capacity to strike first, creating a sequence of leads and answers that made the final whistle feel provisional until Taifi’s strike. That dynamic kept the game from settling and raised a clear question for Orlando as it moves on: can the team find the same end-game success while avoiding the repeated deficits that forced them to rally so often?
For Zakaria Taifi, the moment was decisive. His stoppage-time goal did more than change the scoreboard; it ended a match of near-constant replies and handed Orlando a return to the quarterfinal round after a four-year absence. The club now has little time to regroup before facing Inter Miami CF at Nu Stadium on Saturday night, a quick turnaround that will test whether this late resilience can become a steadier form of performance.
