Orlando City Suddenly Has Plenty of Striker Options

In the waning moments of Orlando City’s 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls, 2023 first-round MLS SuperDraft pick Duncan McGuire entered the match to the surprise of virtually all who have followed Orlando City over the last several months.

McGuire was injured during a classic Cardiac Cats performance, drawing a late penalty after being pulled down by Djibril Diani in the final leg of the 2024 playoff series against Charlotte FC. The penalty allowed Orlando City to equalize, take the match to penalty kicks, and eventually win the series. However, it cost McGuire his off-season, as he injured his shoulder on the play and had to undergo surgery in December. McGuire was originally projected to need four to five months for recovery and rehabilitation after the procedure, which led many to think that the USMNT pool striker would not see the field until the end of April or later.

The injury and recovery timeline for McGuire seemed to lock in a clear path of succession for the striker position. Ramiro Enrique was all but certain to start the season up top with Designated Player Luis Muriel filling in as a super substitute. The sneaky Enrique ended the 2024 season on a tear and can find the scrappy goals that more often than not make the difference in close matches. He finished the 2024 season with eight goals, which was third most on the squad behind Facundo Torres (14) and McGuire (10). Enrique started the first two matches of the 2025 season, but unfortunately has yet to find the back of the net.

A pleasant surprise so far during the beginning of the season has been the start that Muriel has been enjoying. He has now started in back-to-back road matches, and throughout the first four games of the year has three goal contributions — one goal and two assists. Possibly more important for Muriel than his goal contributions has been the eye test. He appears to be far more comfortable now in his second year of MLS action.

This poses a good problem for Orlando City to have as Head Coach Oscar Pareja likes to start the hot hand (or foot rather), and having Muriel increase his production, along with having a known commodity in Enrique, allows the manager the freedom to customize his lineup to different opponent weaknesses.

The wrench now is what to do with a potentially healthy McGuire. Coming back into the fold a full month earlier than his earliest expected return can only be viewed as a positive, but it begs the question of who should start as striker even sooner than the coaching staff may have been prepared to answer. Granted, McGuire may still be a few weeks away from 100%, but in limited action against the Red Bulls — he entered in the 87th minute — McGuire looked poised and formidable. He quickly won a corner and set Enrique up for what should perhaps have been the game-winning goal.

Someone has to start up top, and for the time being, it feels like Muriel may continue to get the nod as he has been producing results. The coaching staff tried starting two up top last season and it was not very effective, leading me to think that will not be something we see deployed this year. We may see Duncan’s substitute minutes increase over the next few matches as he continues to get match fit. Enrique, by process of elimination, may wind up finding himself as the odd man out once McGuire reaches full health and fitness. The good news for Enrique is that there are other avenues for him to earn playing time, as he has been deployed on the wing before, giving spells to players like Ivan Angulo.

Only time will tell who ultimately separates themselves from the pack to earn the starting role, but having three capable healthy strikers available for selection can hardly be viewed as a bad problem. Hopefully, they will continue to push one another in practice as all three improve. Let us know who your first starter of choice is and why in the comments below. As always, vamos Orlando!