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 Fernandez 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.

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