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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Final Score 2-1 as Daryl Dike’s Header Wins It at the Death

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4 years ago

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Daryl Dike saved his best moment for last with a perfect header off a Chris Mueller cross to lift Orlando City to a 2-1 win over D.C. United at Exploria Stadium. The Lions (11-8-9, 42 points) snapped a five-game winless streak when Mueller’s corner kick delivery found Dike’s head and the ball skipped off the underside of the crossbar and in for the winner to beat D.C. (12-12-4, 40 points).

Robin Jansson’s goal off an earlier corner kick scramble had canceled out a Julian Gressel cannon shot in the first half and the teams seemed destined to split the points until Dike’s goal. It was the forward’s third straight game with a goal and lifted the Lions back over United in the tight Eastern Conference standings. Orlando swept the season series from D.C. (2-0-0) — the first time the Lions have done that to United since 2017.

“I think it was a very important night for us,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And it was emotional for us, of course, because we have seen how hard (the players) worked to get over this hurdle, this period of three weeks where we couldn’t get results. Our players were very united.”

Pareja had just about his pick of the roster for this match as everyone was available except the injured Alexandre Pato and Uri Rosell and the suspended Rodrigo Schlegel. Pedro Gallese started behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Sebas Mendez and Junior Urso took their spots in the central midfield, with Benji Michel and Mauricio Pereyra connecting with Nani and Dike up top.

There wasn’t much going on for the first five minutes of the game except 22 guys kicking the ball around, but that changed in the sixth minute. A ball forward for Dike was won by D.C. and sent to the right side. Gressel smashed a shot from distance that caught Gallese a bit off guard and it had the power to beat him to make it 1-0.

The first look for Orlando came in the 14th minute when a corner kick found Nani who fired a shot that was deflected. The ball pinged around in traffic and found Dike, who hit a shot over the bar. Two minutes later, Ruan got down the right and sent in a good low cross that Steve Birnbaum deflected just inches wide of his own left post. But the ensuing corner led to the Lions’ equalizer.

A good service into the area was headed on goal by Urso and Bill Hamid made a sprawling save. Jansson was there to smash the rebound into the roof of the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute.

“I went to the second post and I saw the guys were in the middle there,” Jansson said. “I think it was Antonio, Dike, and maybe Urso or someone else. They got a touch to the goalkeeper, who put the rebound off on the second post and I was there to grab that rebound up and hit it in the net. I’m happy about the goal and happy for the team that we broke the bad momentum we have had. Hopefully this is something we can keep building now the last couple of games.”

Orlando looked vulnerable after scoring, with Carlos doing some emergency defending a couple of times to break up play but conceding dangerous corners. But the Lions settled back down and held some possession to calm the game back down.

Michel should have put Orlando on top in the 35th minute. Nani made a ridiculous pass to send Michel into the box on the left side. The winger made a good move to cut inside on his right foot but then sent his shot just inches wide of the far post.

That was the last good opportunity for either side in the first half and the teams went into the break all even. Orlando dominated possession in the first half (64.7%-35.3%) but often couldn’t decide what to do with it in the final third. The Lions had more shots (7-4) and shots on goal (2-1), and was more accurate with the ball when passing (87.1%-76.7%).

Emmanuel Mas came on for Moutinho to start the second half and D.C. pressed to try to find a goal early in the half, keeping Orlando penned in its own end for the half’s opening minutes. The Lions helped them with that by being loose with the ball, turning it over and playing into D.C.’s hands.

The first good chance came when Paul Arriola fired over the bar in the 48th minute. A minute later, Gallese spilled a seemingly routine ball and allowed D.C. to recycle an attack into the area, ending in a weak header on goal. Moments after that, Urso gave the ball away cheaply and ended up having to clean up the ball just in front of his own goal line.

Shortly after that, Orlando started to settle down and pass the ball better. D.C. began to drop into a defensive formation, content to earn a point on the road at worst and to ideally score on the counter, if possible. The Lions were able to get into some good positions but couldn’t quite find that final pass to unlock the defense.

In the 88th minute, the Lions created some danger in transition. Second-half sub Silvester van der Water did well to deflect a ball and Dike got onto it. The big forward passed up a shooting opportunity to slip between defenders but lost his balance after contact with a defender and he could only slide the ball to the right. Tesho Akindele made a sliding effort to direct the ball toward goal but Hamid made a huge initial save and then it was cleared off the line before van der Water could tap it home.

That looked like it was going to be the last good chance of the match but the Lions won a late free kick and made the most of it. Mueller sent in a fantastic cross and Dike flicked it on, sneaking it just under the bar for the late winner in the 97th minute. For Mueller, it was his first direct goal contribution since July 3, when he scored in a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.

“Chris had just served a good ball near post, and so I decided to go near post this time and flicked it on to the goal and the ball went in and emotion just came over me,” Dike said. “I’m just so happy we got a win in front of the fans.”

Dike celebrated and somehow ended up with a pair of sunglasses on his face. He said that Andres Perea brought them to him.

“I don’t know where he got them from but they ended up on my face,” Dike said.

“It seems like one point was not enough for them in front of our fans,” Pareja said of his team. “They brought that energy at the end that was what we were looking for to change the road now.”

With D.C. content to look for counter opportunities, the Lions led in most statistical categories, leading in shots (12-11), shots on target (4-2), corners (9-5), possession (64.8%-35.2%), and passing accuracy (86%-75.3%).

“I think we were the best team on the field,” Pareja said. “I think we got the three points because we always were constant on our intentions in trying to hurt United, which is a very good team also, who have strong transitions. But today our heart was bigger and that’s why we’re very proud.”

The win, combined with other results, lifted Orlando from seventh back into third place in the Eastern Conference.

“At this time of the year, every single point matters,” Dike said. “We tell each other every single second of the game matters, every play matters, whether it be the first minute, whether it be the 90th minute. You saw it from last game, you saw it from this game, that we’re going to keep fighting until the whistle is blown in order to get the points that we need.”

Orlando City now gets a rare rest with the international break, resuming play on Oct. 16 at FC Cincinnati.

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Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions continue on the road, looking to avenge their opening day loss to the Union.

Published

10 hours ago

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April 5, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday opening night matchup between Orlando City (3-2-1, 10 points) and the Philadelphia Union (4-2-0, 12 points) at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second and final scheduled regular-season meeting between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2025.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 7-8-6 in the 21 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 8-9-7 in all competitions. The Lions are 4-5-1 against the Union on the road in league play and 4-6-1 at Philadelphia in all competitions.

These two teams kicked off the 2025 season against each other in Orlando on Feb. 22, with the Union stunning the Lions by scoring on all four of the team’s shots on target, taking advantage of individual mistakes in a 4-2 win. Marco Pasalic scored his first two goals as a Lion in his first OCSC appearance that night, but Tai Baribo scored a brace, with Daniel Gazdag and Mikael Uhre also scoring for Philadelphia. The Lions dominated open play but could not pay off their chances while the Union were lethal. It was Orlando’s first loss on opening day in its MLS existence.

The teams last met in 2024 on Oct. 2, when the Lions won 2-1 at home. Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire pushed Orlando out to a 2-0 lead. Luis Muriel assisted on both goals. Quinn Sullivan pulled one back but the Lions hung on. The teams met for the first time last year on May 11, with the Lions snatching a 3-2 road win at Subaru Park. Muriel scored his first two MLS goals, McGuire added a strike, and Nico Lodeiro assisted on all three tallies for the Lions to offset an early goal by Uhre and a penalty by Gazdag.

The last meeting of 2023 took place in Orlando on June 21, with the Lions blowing a two-goal lead in a controversial 2-2 draw. McGuire and Martin Ojeda scored early in each half, only to see Jack McGlynn score on a cross into the box that missed everyone and got past Mason Stajduhar at the far post, followed by a rocket shot by Jose Martinez from distance. Ivan Angulo’s would-be game winner was chalked off after a questionable foul call in the buildup against Ercan Kara.

The teams met in Philadelphia on March 25, 2023 with the Lions jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Angulo and Ojeda. Former Lion Andres Perea pulled one back, but the Lions held on for a 2-1 road win. The victory snapped Philadelphia’s incredible 24-match home unbeaten streak.

The Union put the Lions to the sword in the last meeting of 2022, a dominant 5-1 win by Philadelphia on Sept. 10 of that year. That was Orlando’s first match since winning the U.S. Open Cup title three days earlier. Joao Moutinho’s own goal started the scoring and the Union got goals from Uhre, Gazdag (penalty), Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack Elliott. Perea, who was then still a Lion, scored for Orlando, but the team was trailing by 4-0 at the time.

The Eastern Conference foes met on July 23, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Two controversial video review decisions went against Orlando that night and the Lions were wasteful with their chances in an evenly matched 1-0 Philadelphia win. Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.

The teams also met in U.S. Open Cup play on May 10, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-1 at home. Kara and Perea hoisted Orlando to a 2-0 lead. Stuart Findlay pulled one back late, but the Lions saw it out and advanced.

On Sept. 19, 2021 the Union prevailed 3-1 at Subaru Park, largely due to a brace by Kacper Przybylko after he got away with what appeared to be a clear elbow to the face of Rodrigo Schlegel. Instead of being sent off and/or conceding a free kick to Orlando City, the Union scored on the ensuing play and went on to win the match. The teams met in Orlando on July 22, 2021 and the Lions got goals by Benji Michel and Perea on the team’s only two shots on target to win 2-1. Przybylko, who had feasted on Orlando since arriving in Philadelphia, pulled one back for the visitors but the Lions hung on.

The teams faced each other in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020 in the only meeting to date that did not take place in either side’s home stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after a Mauricio Pereyra goal canceled out a strike by Ilsinho. That draw allowed the Lions to win Group A in the competition and they went on to reach the final.

The Lions and Union tangled in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, with the teams drawing, 2-2. Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patino brought Orlando back from 1-0 down but Przybylko poached a goal in the 90th to capture a share of the points for the Union.

The two teams had met just a few days earlier on July 3, ending in Orlando’s 3-1 home loss against the Union. Chris Mueller and Przybylko swapped goals in the first half before Robin Jansson was sent off just prior to the break. Afterwards, the 10-man Lions gave up two more goals — to Przybylko and Fafa Picault — and then went down another man with Sacha Kljestan seeing red.

In 2018, the teams drew 2-2 on Sept. 1 in Orlando. The Lions prevailed over the Union in Philadelphia on April 13, 2018 by a 2-0 score. Orlando and Philadelphia also met that season in U.S. Open Cup play, with the Union capturing a 1-0 home win back on July 18, 2018 on a goal by Bedoya.

The teams split their two matches in 2017, with the home side prevailing both times. The Lions won 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 18. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams.

The Lions were 1-1-1 against Philadelphia in 2016. The team’s first road victory in the series came on Oct. 16, 2016, as the Lions roared, 2-0. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando. Tranquillo Barnetta’s free kick gave Philly a 2-1 win.

Orlando drew 0-0 at home and lost on the road, 1-0 (on a penalty kick), against Philadelphia in 2015.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 2-1 comeback win over the Galaxy in LA a week ago. Christian Ramirez scored in the first half for LA, but Ojeda converted a penalty won by Eduard Atuesta and Muriel scored in the 90th minute on a high, long-range free kick that John McCarthy spilled into his own net. The Lions have won two consecutive matches for the first time in 2025 and are unbeaten in their last three (2-0-1). Tonight marks the team’s fourth road match in a five-game span. Orlando is 1-1-1 away from home this season.

The Union have lost two of their last three after last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Inter Miami in a battle for first place in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia is 2-1-0 at home this season and is generally difficult to beat in Subaru Park. Under new coach Bradley Carnell, the Union trail only Orlando City in goals scored in MLS, with 13 to the Lions’ 15. However, Philly has conceded eight times in 2025 compared to Orlando’s co-league-worst 12.

Baribo is not only the MLS Player of the Month for February/March, he’s leading the Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches played. A third of those goals came against Orlando in the opener, meaning the Lions will need to stay focused and compact defensively. Baribo is by no means the only Union player that can do damage. Gazdag, who has two goals and two assists on the season, seemingly nearly always scores against Orlando and Uhre has hurt the Lions in the past as well. The trio accounted for 36 goals and 11 assists in 2024.

Philadelphia will look to take the ball away and create in transition. The key to Orlando’s success will be beating Philly’s press and getting at the back line in front of standout goalkeeper Andre Blake. Orlando did well with the first part of that in late February, but struggled to either beat Blake or put shots on frame, firing 24 times with 10 on target, but only scoring twice.

“Preparation has been good so far. The aura within the group is great after a great result in LA,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We’re enthusiastic about going on the road again and trying to add more points. This is a game that we played in the opener not long ago, where we have some context that we can use, and surely they [Philadelphia] will do it too. At this point, we have that ambition to go and fight for our three points there.” 

Orlando City will be without Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Yutaro Tsukada (knee), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), and Favian Loyola (thigh). Philadelphia’s Kai Wagner (oblique) is also out.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1),

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Defensive Midfielders: Joran Gerbet, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Andre Blake.

Defenders: Nathan Harriel, Ian Glavinovich, Jakob Glesnes, Frankie Westfield.

Midfielders: Quinn Sullivan, Danley Jean-Jacques, Jovan Lukic, Daniel Gazdag.

Forwards: Tai Baribo, Bruno Damiani.

Bench: Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, Olwethu Makhanya, Jesus Bueno, Alejandro Bedoya, Cavan Sullivan, Chris Donovan, Indiana Vassilev, Mikael Uhre.

Referees:

REF: Ismir Pekmic.
AR1: Gerard-Kader Lebuis.
AR2: Eduardo Jeff.
4TH: Luis Diego Arroyo.
VAR: Younes Marrakchi.
AVAR: Brian Dunn.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union

Find out how the season has been treating the Philadelphia Union since the two teams met in the season opener.

Published

1 day ago

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April 4, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City has strung two wins together for the first time in the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and now the Lions will try to make it three on the bounce. Along with the chance to extend the winning streak to three games comes the opportunity for revenge against the Philadelphia Union. The Union got the better of Orlando in the first game of the season to the tune of a 4-2 victory, and now we’ll have a chance to see what sort of progress OCSC has made since then.

Before that, though, I spoke to Matt Ralph, the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now, to see how things have been going for Philly since that first game of the season. He was kind enough to help get us up to speed on a Union side that’s been one of the best in the league so far.

The Union don’t seem to have had much problem in adjusting to how Bradley Carnell wants to play. What’s made this team so successful through its opening six games?

Matt Ralph: The players have bought in, and the new additions have fit in well. One of Carnell’s strengths is his communication, and like Jim Curtin before him, he has done a great job of being consistent with his messaging and has created a challenging training environment that has prepared his players well week to week. Carnell has put his stamp on the “Philly tough” approach, no doubt, but many of the ingredients were already in place, and if anything, he’s cranked things up another notch with the intensity he expects day to day in training and within the 90 minutes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but both losses have shown that there is little margin for error, which is not really a new phenomenon for a team over the last decade that’s become known for punching above their weight. 

Let’s talk about Golden Boot leader, Tai Baribo. Outside of the great scoring numbers, what does he bring to the team?

MR: Baribo will be the first person to deflect credit to his teammates and his humility and team-first mentality is one of his greatest attributes. When you see him get stuck in to make a tackle in the middle of the park in the 80th minute, it illustrates how much his work rate and willingness to do anything to win — whether the goals come or not — impacts the team. 

Obviously it’s pretty early in a long season, but the Union have been impressive so far. What would be seen as a successful season for this group?

MR: It’s pretty much playoffs or bust, and once they get to the post-season, as we know, all bets are off. A competitive U.S. Open Cup run would be nice, though the schedule in May is not very kind.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

MR: Kai Wagner is questionable again, so look for him to come off the bench at the very least. I think there will be one or two changes in the starting XI, be it Indiana Vassilev, Bruno Damiani, or Olwethu Makhanya starting, but it will mostly be a similar look (with Nathan Harriel healthy) from match day 1. 

Projected starting XI: Andre Blake; Frankie Westfield, Ian Glavinovich, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean-Jacques, Quinn Sullivan; Daniel Gazdag, Bruno Damiani, Tai Baribo.

The Union haven’t drawn a match yet this season and Orlando has shown they can score (first in the league with 15 goals), so I’m going with a 2-2 draw.

Thank you to Matt for the refresher on the Union. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/4/25

Orlando City gets ready for the Philadelphia Union, OCSC partners with Footy Access, USWNT prepares for Brazil, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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April 4, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! It may feel a bit like the calm before the storm today, as Orlando City, Orlando City B, and the United States Women’s National Team are all in action on Saturday. It all makes for a fun next few days and I’m looking forward to it and also watching some kart racing on Sunday. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Gets Ready For the Philadelphia Union

The Lions are back in action Saturday with an away game against the Philadelphia Union at 7:30 p.m. Orlando has won its past two games and leads the league with 15 goals this season. The Union remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, but have lost two of their past three games. Duncan McGuire detailed how healthy competition and a willingness to defend has the offense firing on all cylinders heading into this match.

This will also be a rematch of the season opener on Feb. 22 when the Union won 4-2 at Inter&Co Stadium. Philadelphia Union Head Coach Bradley Carnell spoke on how Orlando is a different team compared to that match due to changes on offense and center back Robin Jansson’s recovery from a knock.

Orlando City Partners With Footy Access

With the Generation Adidas Cup set to take place later this month, Orlando City has partnered with Footy Access, which is a media company focused on youth soccer. This collaboration means fans will be able to enjoy highlights and interviews from Orlando’s academy as it progresses through the tournament. I’m pretty excited about being able to see how well Orlando’s academy is doing.

MLS NEXT also announced that new rankings focused on development rather than results will be used for its U-13 and U-14 age groups. These rankings will use an analytical formula that measures game play and the caliber of offensive and defensive actions. There will also be encouragement for teams to have their own identities on how they want to play.

USWNT Prepares to Face Brazil in Friendlies

The United States Women’s National Team will take on Brazil on Saturday in the first of two friendlies this international break, with the second match set for Tuesday. These friendlies will be rematches of last year’s Olympic gold medal match, which the U.S. won 1-0. Marta has retired from international soccer, but Pride midfielder Angelina was called up for these friendlies, along with former Pride forward Adriana. Lorena, who has only conceded one goal in three games for the Kansas City Current this season, will likely get the start in goal for Brazil behind a talented back line anchored by Tarciane. The USWNT will need to find ways to limit attacking threats like Kerolin and Gabi Portilho as well. These should be matches, with familiar faces on both sides for Orlando fans.

U.S. Set to Host 2031 Women’s World Cup

It looks like the 2031 Women’s World Cup will be held in the U.S., as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the only bid came from the U.S. and potentially other Concacaf nations. The U.S., which withdrew from hosting the 2027 World Cup, would be the first country to host the tournament three times and last hosted it in 2007. The United Kingdom was also revealed as the lone valid bid to host the 2035 World Cup and it would be the first time the tournament is hosted there.

Free Kicks

  • Shout out to Orlando City’s U-19 team for its title win and securing a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup playoffs.

That’s all for this fine Friday, I hope you all have a fantastic day and a relaxing weekend!

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