Orlando City took it to D.C. United at Inter&Co Stadium, decimating the visitors 4-1 on Saturday night. It was the Lions’ best defensive effort of the season, and the offense matched its best total to boot. All three of Orlando City’s Designated Players scored in one match for the first time in club history. I’m saying it was a good night.

Let’s look at the Lions’ individual performances to see who made the grade and who needs to step it up.

Starters

GK, Javier Otero, 6.5 — Otero may have been a bit nervous in his first MLS start, but he grew more comfortable as the match progressed. In the end he made six saves, including a very difficult diving effort in the 77th minute. There wasn’t anything Otero could do about the consolation goal Lukas MacNaughton scored in second half stoppage time. His distribution was good, and he had a 76.5% passing rate. You really can’t ask much more from a keeper in his first start.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos had a rough start to the match. Initially, he went too fast giving the ball away when he tried to move into the offensive half. Then he was too slow on the ball, nearly giving it away in the defensive half. He eventually settled in a little better, providing one key pass, two crosses, and a passing rate of 72.9%. Defensively, he provided three tackles and one interception. It may not have been a great night for the defender, but it was certainly better than other matches this season.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel had a productive evening for the Lions. Defensively, he contributed three tackles, one interception, one blocked shot, and a team-high 11 clearances. He passed at a 92.6% rate, completed five long balls, and drew two fouls. He didn’t play much of a role offensively, but it’s probably better that way, given how the Lions had shipped goals prior to this match. Schlegel was a “right place, right time” type of defender on the night.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The captain was dealt a difficult hand on the night by having to deal with D.C. United’s Christian Benteke all evening. Jansson probably should have received more foul calls but referee Tori Penso wasn’t interested in calling them for the Beefy Swede. Like Schlegel, he didn’t contribute much offensively, but he passed at an 82.4% rate. Defensively, he contributed one tackle, one interception, one blocked shot, and eight clearances.

D, Alex Freeman, 7.5 — Freeman had his best night of his young career, scoring a goal and providing an assist. It was his cross to Luis Muriel in the 21st minute that gave Orlando City the first goal of the match. He did well to create some space in the box, allowing him to get his head on Martin Ojeda’s free kick to score his second goal of the season in the 50th minute. It was his only shot of the night, and his assist was his one successful cross. He recorded five clearances, drew three fouls, and completed 84.4% of his passes.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Araujo returned to the lineup after missing Orlando City’s last match. He looked as though he hadn’t sat out a week, contributing on both sides of the pitch. Offensively, he provided one key pass, drew three fouls, and passed at a team-high 95.9% rate. Defensively, he finished with one tackle, one interception, and two clearances, and he committed three fouls. It was good to have his experience back on the pitch.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — Atuesta quietly had another good match. He was active in both halves of the field. Offensively, he attempted one shot, made three key passes, and suffered one foul. Defensively, he contributed three tackles, one interception, and two clearances. The midfielder passed at a 90.9% rate and put in one cross. It was the type of workman effort that is becoming a regular shift from Atuesta for the Lions.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5 — If not for his assist on Ojeda’s goal (and to a lesser extent, his secondary assist on Muriel’s opener), Angulo’s grade would be lower because of how his time on the pitch ended. When he was subbed off, the referee told him to head to the closest sideline, and he did not. Because he did not leave the pitch in the required time under new MLS substitution rules, he earned a yellow card, and it meant Dagur Dan Thorhallsson had to wait over two minutes to enter the pitch, leaving the Lions shorthanded. It was a selfish move by Angulo. He did his usual good job getting back on defense, providing three tackles and one blocked shot. On offense, he took three shots, none on target, and provided two key passes including the aforementioned assists.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 8 (MotM) — Ojeda had an excellent night, scoring a goal and providing two assists. That type of offensive production earns him our Man of the Match. His goal may have deflected off a defender’s rear end, but it still counted. His first assist came from a free kick he delivered onto the head of Alex Freeman at the back post to give Orlando City a three-goal lead. He added the second assist when he moved the ball through the middle of the field and passed to Marco Pasalic, who scored the team’s fourth goal. Offensively, Ojeda took six shots, put three on target, and stuck one in the back of the net. He drew one foul, passed at a 93.8% rate, and provided three crosses. Defensively, he contributed on tackle and one interception. He subbed off in the 83rd minute for Joran Gerbet.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic showed his speed and willingness to take on players during this match. Sometimes that was a good thing, like when he sped past defenders with the ball at his feet. Sometimes it was a bad thing, like when he dribbled into traffic and gave the ball away. Fortunately, he made me forget some of it with his absolute golazo in the 56th minute to give Orlando the fourth goal of the match. He completed four key passes, three crosses, and an 80.8% passing rate. Defensively, he recorded one interception and two clearances. If he made more passes like the one to Muriel in the 22nd minute, rather than dribbling into the opposition, he’d have a higher grade. He came off in the 88th minute for Duncan McGuire.

F, Luis Muriel, 7 — Muriel did well on the night, taking six shots, with three on target and one in the back of the net. He provided two key passes, one cross, and a 68.8% passing rate. Had he dialed in his shots, he may have scored a hat trick. As it was, we’ll have to be happy with his excellent header to get Orlando City started on the night. His flicked pass to Ojeda was a vital touch on the play that turned into Pasalic’s goal, giving the Colombian a secondary assist. Muriel is gaining in confidence in this league, which is a good thing for Orlando City. He came off in the 83rd minute for Ramiro Enrique.

Substitutes

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (72’), 6 — Thorhallson was subbed into the match in the 72nd minute, but Angulo took too long to come off, meaning Thorhallsson had to wait before he could actually enter the field in the 74th minute. Once on, he managed 11 touches, three tackles, one interception, one blocked shot, one clearance, and a 100% passing rate, completing all four of his passes.

F, Ramiro Enrique (83’), N/A — Enrique came on late for Muriel to see the match out. He only managed five total touches, including one pass. He contributed two clearances on defense. He might have been able to set up a McGuire goal but he opted to try to go through two defenders and had a late effort blocked.

MF, Joran Gerbet (83′), N/A — Gerbet came on at the same time as Enrique, though for Ojeda. His contributions nearly matched Enrique’s effort. He also had five total touches and one pass, but made two tackles rather than clearances.

F, Duncan McGuire (88′), N/A — McGuire only managed two touches in his limited time on the pitch. One of those touches was his one pass, which he completed.

D, Gustavo Caraballo (88′), N/A — Orlando City’s youngest player came on in the waning minutes for Santos but managed to have a bigger impact as a defender than many of the other substitutes. He had 11 touches, managed an 85.7% passing rate on seven passes, and made one tackle.

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That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s decisive win over D.C. United. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

Following back-to-back road matches, Orlando City got back to winning ways in entertaining fashion on Saturday night, as the Lions cruised to a 4-1 win over D.C. United at Inter&Co Stadium. It was a match that had plenty of things to dissect, and what follows are my five main thoughts from an exciting contest.

Lions Start Well

While D.C. created the game’s first shot (which was saved and held well by Javier Otero), Orlando carried the greater threat during the opening minutes of the game. The Lions repeatedly tested D.C.’s high line, and while they couldn’t quite beat the offside trap, there were plenty of warning bells if you knew where to look. Luis Muriel couldn’t put away a chance from a cross, Ivan Angulo curled a shot just wide, and OCSC was knocking firmly on the door. Coming out of the gate hot doesn’t always lead to grabbing the opening goal, but it’s just so helpful to dictate the game at home, and Orlando did that very well in this game.

Designated Player Delight

The big story of this match was Orlando’s Designated Players. For the first time in club history, all three DPs got on the scoresheet in the same game, and they each posed plenty of problems for D.C. in different ways. Muriel displayed his knack for hold-up play and his range of dribbling and passing, Marco Pasalic repeatedly sought to take players on, and Martin Ojeda pulled the strings in the middle of the field while drifting around and finding dangerous pockets of space. Then you have Muriel’s well-taken header, a goal and twp assists for Ojeda, and Pasalic’s absolute howitzer at the end of a counterattack that saw all three men combine to create the goal. It’s exactly the kind of production the Lions need from their big money men, and it was wonderful to see.

Freeman Keeps Rolling

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also take the time to wax lyrical about Alex Freeman. The right back position seems to be firmly his to lose, and with good reason. He got forward to great effect during this game and was constantly a dangerous outlet on the right side of Orlando’s formation. His cross for the opening goal was beautiful, and he used his height to great effect to score his second goal of the young season. There will likely still be some growing pains this season as he adjusts to playing in the top flight for the first time, but week after week he just keeps showing that he belongs, while giving Oscar Pareja no choice but to start him.

Untaken Chances Don’t Matter

As strange as it seems to gripe about missed opportunities when the team you support scores four goals, I’m going to spend a little time doing just that. OCSC easily could, and probably should have scored six or seven goals on the night, and if the Lions’ finishing had been a little crisper they probably would have. It didn’t end up mattering of course, but Muriel, Ojeda, and Angulo all spurned at least one very good chance. Muriel looked excellent while continuing a strong start to the year, but he easily could have had the first hat trick in club history. I’m not complaining, as the team still turned in a great performance overall, but you know what’s even more fun than scoring four goals? Scoring seven goals. Maybe another time.

An Improved Defensive Outing

One of the best things on display tonight, was an improved defensive performance. It wasn’t perfect, as the team failed to keep a clean sheet and benefitted from a few fortunate bounces that took the sting out of what would have been some tricky shots, but it was the first game this year that the Lions have given up fewer than two goals. A clean sheet obviously would have been phenomenal, but if nothing else, it was nice to not see D.C. creating the kind of clear-cut chances that past opponents had been torturing OCSC with. There’s definitely still work to do, but the back line largely did a good job of marshalling the D.C. attack and snuffing things out before they got too dangerous. It was definitely a performance that can be built on, and hopefully that’s exactly what happens. Additionally, let’s give a shoutout to Otero for picking up the win in his first MLS start.

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That’s what stood out to me from a wildly entertaining win over D.C. United. Can we play them at home every week? Be sure to let us know what you thought about this match down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

All three of Orlando City’s Designated Players scored goals for the first time in club history and Homegrown defender Alex Freeman also put the ball in the net as the Lions (2-2-1, 7 points) crushed D.C. United (1-1-3, 6 points) 4-1 at Inter&Co Stadium. Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, Freeman, and Marco Pasalic built the Lions a 4-0 lead that could have been even larger if not for a couple shots off the post, before Lukas MacNaughton spoiled what would have been the team’s first shutout of the year.

Javier Otero didn’t get the shutout in his first MLS start, but he got the win with six saves, including a couple of big ones.

“It was very important to add three points tonight the result brought,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “A very good performance and confidence to the players. We felt that everyone is raising their level and that make us collectively and a stronger team. There is a lot of work to do still, but tonight was that one game where we must add three points and play well so we can raise the confidence.”

With Pedro Gallese away for international duty, Pareja’s lineup featured Otero in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Freeman. Cesar Araujo returned to the starting central midfield alongside Eduard Atuesta behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Ojeda, and Pasalic, with Muriel up top.

D.C. played with a high line, which Orlando looked to exploit whenever the Lions won the ball. The home side struggled to stay onside in the early going, but managed to find opportunities as the game settled in.

However, it was United fashioning the game’s first chance just four minutes in. Aaron Herrera cut inside of Angulo and smashed a shot on target. Otero did well to catch the shot without spilling it in front of the charging Christian Benteke.

“The players out there, my teammates, gave me confidence, just as I hope that I filled them with confidence throughout the game too,” Otero said. “The team was working and training really well this week, and I think you could see that out there on the field.”

The Lions’ first chance came in the 10th minute when Pasalic sent a good cross into the area for Muriel. The Colombian didn’t make good contact with the aerial cross, and it skipped well wide of the net. Three minutes later, Muriel sent in either a soft shot or a pass in front, but none of his teammates made a run from the left and the ball was easily scooped up by D.C. goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong.

Angulo cut in from the left and fizzed a shot just wide of the right post in the 14th minute, as Orlando continued to press the attack. Muriel was sent down the right side of the box two minutes later. Trying to pick out the upper right corner, he fired his shot just off frame.

Orlando broke the deadlock in the 21st minute. Angulo got into the attack on the right for a change, and he laid off a pass for Freeman. The Homegrown fullback fizzed a good cross out in front of goal and Muriel met it in midair, heading past Joon-hong and under the bar to make it 1-0.

Muriel gets the scoring started for @OrlandoCitySC 💥

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/8oSklW6hHy pic.twitter.com/jMYSjSflcy

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025

Ojeda had an opportunity to double the lead three minutes after Muriel’s goal, firing a volley shot on the left. His shot would have gone well wide to the right, but it hit a defender and deflected righ tto Joon-hong.

D.C. started keeping more of the possession, helped in part by a lot of physical play being allowed by referee Tori Penso, who ignored Jansson getting run over from behind by Benteke on one occasion. Otero did well to get to his back post and catch a corner kick cross to snuff out an attack.

Ojeda’s second scoring chance resulted in a scuffed shot right at the goalkeeper in the 39th minute. The Argentine seemed to struggle to get clean hits of the ball or get his shots through cleanly, but that worked to his advantage moments later.

Angulo dispossessed the D.C. defense just outside the box in the 44th minute, giving the ball to Ojeda on the left. The Argentine fired a shot that hit the backside of Herrera and found the inside of the right post to make it 2-0.

Ojeda stays hot 🔥@OrlandoCitySC double its lead right before half! pic.twitter.com/aQYKwiFuN9

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025

Not much happened in the two minutes of stoppage time and the Lions took their 2-0 lead into the break.

At the break, D.C. held the advantage in possession (51.3%-48.7%) and corners (2-0), but Orlando City had the edge in shots (8-3), shots on target (3-1), and passing accuracy (86.5%-85.7%).

Neither side made any changes at halftime and D.C. came out looking to pull a goal back. Boris Enow fired wide of the right post from well outside the box just moments into the second half.

Orlando City extended its lead moments later. Araujo was fouled near the left sideline and Ojeda stood over the free kick and delivered a great back post ball for Freeman to head home, making it 3-0 in the 50th minute.

Alexander Freeman with the header 👊

3-0 @OrlandoCitySC! pic.twitter.com/ZnUG4NoKGw

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025

“The kids play when they deserve to play,” Pareja said about Freeman’s performances this season. “That’s the way it is, and they know that when they play, they have to match the level and keep it, and that’s what he’s doing. Alex is growing in the opportunity that came to him. Has been taking it with responsibility, with maturity, scoring goals. I’m excited with him and the competition he has behind him is not easy because Dagur (Dan Thorhallsson) had a tremendous season and is a tremendous player. I’m happy for Alex, and he’s growing at the point that I think he needs to be seen by the national team.”

The Lions continued to create danger with Muriel taking the ball and going on the attack with Ojeda. He tried to play in his fellow Designated Player near the top of the box, but Joon-hong got to the ball just in time to prevent a shot.

Benteke hit the post for D.C. moments after that chance, but the flag came up anyway for offside. Instead of United pulling a goal back, the Lions extended the lead two minutes later.

All three Designated players combined as Muriel flicked down a long ball into Ojeda’s path. The Lions’ No. 10 played the ball right to Pasalic on the wing. The Croatian then cut to his left inside MacNaughton and blasted a golazo into the upper left corner to make it 4-0 in the 56th minute.

OH MY, MARCO PASALIC 😱

All of a sudden @OrlandoCitySC lead 4-0. pic.twitter.com/T8fU0OXWlw

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025

“When you play so good together, then, like these goals come,” Pasalic said. “I said before I came, my left foot can be a weapon, and today it was a weapon.

The attack kept coming. Ojeda forced a good save from Joon-hong in the 60th minute, and two minutes later, McNaughton’s last-second intercession kept an Ojeda pass from finding Muriel in front of an empty net.

Otero was called into action in the 68th minute and made a second big save in the match, denying a redirect from Dominique Badji in front off a cross from the right.

The Lions then fashioned a trio of great chances that all came close to making it 5-0. The first was a shot by Muriel on target that required a big save by Joon-hong. Ojeda picked up the rebound and fired a shot off the outside of the right post. Orlando quickly stole the ball after the ensuing goal kick and Angulo rang the right post with a shot from the left in the 69th minute.

Orlando again came close to a fifth goal in the 76th minute. Muriel attacked 1-v-1 and got outside of his defender, but he pulled his shot just inches wide of the left post.

Gabriel Pirani fired a wicked curling shot from well outside the area in the 77th minute. Otero didn’t seem to see it at first but then made a terrific save to push it out for a corner.

“Otero’s was a very positive performance coming from the academy,” Pareja said.

Ojeda again got down the left in the 83rd minute. He smashed a shot over the bar as he got caught leaning back a bit on his attempt.

About the only thing that went wrong for Orlando on the night was conceding in stoppage time. A ball into the area was headed back across by Benteke. McNaughton was the first to it and he powered his header into the net to make it 4-1, spoiling Otero’s shutout.

Lukas MacNaughton scores his first goal of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ln6fe85sWY

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025

“After all those things that happened tonight that were positive for us and that give us reasons to be happy and celebrate, when we conceded that goal, the pain was big too, for me, because we need to elevate the way we’re defending,” Pareja said. “That’s going to make us get results.”

“I know it hurt for the whole team, this one goal,” Pasalic said. “It’s okay. Four-zero would be better.”

Moments later, the final whistle blew on a dominant Orlando City win. D.C. had a late flurry of shots — mainly from outside the area — that allowed the visitors to close the final statistical gap.

Orlando City finished with the advantage in possession (61.4%-38.6%), shots (19-15), and shots on target (7-6). D.C. won more corners (10-1) and passed more accurately (85%-83.6%).

“I thought we were the team who had the best chances all the time, and we proposed a game the way we wanted,” Pareja said. “I think collectively, from the first minute, we had the best options playing against a very tough team, but we did great things as well.”

“We played incredible today. The team spirit was there from the first minute,” Pasalic said. “We fought. We played together. We played like a team.”

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The Lions’ home stay was short, as they will now head out on the road for their next two matches. The first is a trip to California to play the LA Galaxy next Saturday.