Oscar Pareja 'proud' of Orlando City after amassing record points haul

Orlando City continued their winning ways with a narrow 3-2 triumph over New England Revolution, and head coach Oscar Pareja was over the moon with his side's efforts.

The Lions' victory saw them clinch second place in the Eastern Conference standing, and also secured a place in next year's Concacaf Champions Cup.

With Pareja in charge, Orlando have now qualified for the postseason each year since 2020 - his first season as the club's head coach - and they have amassed 60 points from their 33 games played - a new club record.

"We are very proud of belonging to this City, belonging to this community and taking this team to second place and Concacaf [Champions Cup] again," Pareja said after the win. "We have a long journey still to go.

"The players know and the game today was a reflection of what we are," he added. "A very difficult game against New England, that first half was difficult, but we responded very well and scored goals. Second half, if we had better finishing then we would probably increase our goals and be more efficient and lethal."

The win also marked the 17th time Orlando have left a contest with three points, another record for the central Florida club, and they've been propelled up the Eastern Conference by key players Facundo Torres (14 goals, four assists), Martin Ojeda (six goals, 10 assists) and Duncan McGuire (11 goals, three assists in his first season in MLS).

"I am proud because they (the players) know they can relax themselves a little more," Pareja continued. "There are still a lot of things to do, but today we beat New England which is not an easy task. This journey in the last three weeks has been a lot of games and the boys responded well."

Orlando will now gear up for their October 21 Decision Day clash with Toronto FC, when Pareja may look to rest some players after the international break and before their playoff campaign begins.

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