ORLANDO, Fla. – Pedro Gallese finished with five saves for Orlando City, Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for CF Montreal and the clubs played to a scoreless draw in a season opener on Saturday night.
Gallese has not allowed a goal in the first match of a season since he joined Orlando City in 2020, posting a 2-0-3 record. Orlando City has opened each of its 10 seasons in the league at home, going 3-0-7. That included a 2-0 victory over Montreal to begin the 2023 campaign.
Montreal earned a point on the road in its first match with Laurent Courtois at the helm. Courtois managed the Columbus Crew 2 each of the past two MLS NEXT Pro seasons. He took the Crew 2 to the championship match both seasons, winning it in 2022.
Montreal improves to 10-8-4 all time versus Orlando City.
Josef Martínez, who is ninth on the all-time list with 105 goals, made his debut for Montreal — subbing in in the 67th minute for fellow newcomer Matías Cóccaro. Cóccaro, a Uruguayan striker, arrived from Argentina’s Huracán with big expectations.
Montreal travels to play FC Dallas on March 2. Orlando City hits the road to play Inter Miami on March 2.
____
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
