Orlando City
2025 Orlando City Season in Review: Nicolas Rodriguez
The Colombian spent his first season learning the ropes as an MLS U22 Initiative player with the Lions.
Orlando City signed Colombian winger Nicolas Rodriguez ahead of the 2025 season, inking the young attacker to an MLS U22 Initiative deal on Jan. 17. Rodriguez joined the Lions from Fortaleza CEIF on a three-year deal through 2027 with a club option for 2028. He picked up a knock early in the season and then was used sparingly throughout the 2025 season, even making a couple of appearances with reserve side OCB in MLS NEXT Pro.
Let’s take a look back at Nico’s first season with Orlando.
Statistical Breakdown
Rodriguez made just 12 appearances in the MLS regular season, starting only twice and logging 213 minutes. The 21-year-old scored one goal but did not contribute an assist in hist first MLS season, attempting four shots and putting three on target. Rodriguez completed 86% of his 81 passes, including four key passes, two of his five crosses, and one of his two long balls. On the defensive end, Rodriguez recorded two tackles, one interception, and five clearances. He committed four fouls and drew six on the opposition, earning himself one yellow card.
The native of San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia, did not play in Orlando City’s playoff match at Chicago.
In U.S. Open Cup play, Rodriguez started and played 84 minutes in his one appearance — Orlando City’s 5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 7. Although Rodriguez did not score one of the Lions’ five goals that day, he provided the assist on Duncan McGuire’s strike that made it 4-0 in the 59th minute. Rodriguez surprisingly did not attempt a shot in the match, but he connected on 31 of his 38 passes (82%) and contributed two key passes but no accurate crosses or long balls. Defensively, he chipped in two tackles, an interception, and a clearance. He committed three fouls and drew two on the Rowdies and was not booked.
In Leagues Cup, Rodriguez appeared in four of Orlando’s six matches, starting one — on Aug. 2 against Atlas FC — and totaling 86 minutes. He did not contribute a goal or assist to the team’s efforts, attempting two shots but putting neither on target. Rodriguez completed 32 of his 37 passes (86.5%) in the competition with two key passes and no successful crosses. On the defensive side, Rodriguez finished the tournament with one tackle and a clearance. He committed three fouls, suffered two, and was not booked in the competition.
Best Game
Although Rodriguez scored his only goal of the season in Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City at home on Aug. 16, the Colombian played only 13 minutes in the match, so I’m not going to make that the pick, although it was a nice finish after quickly reacting to a deflected Alex Freeman shot.
It would also be tempting to go with his longest outing in MLS play when he went 89 minutes against the Vancouver Whitecaps — a game in which he was asked to essentially play a left wingback position and spent most of the night defending, contributing an interception, two recoveries, and four clearances to go along with 93% passing (13/14) and one of Orlando’s three shots on target.
But I’ll go with his start and one-assist appearance against the Rowdies in the U.S. Open Cup. The stats are listed above, but his assist was a thing of beauty. Rodriguez chipped the ball over the Tampa Bay defense for McGuire to run onto, and once the big forward gets behind the back line, it’s usually all over. That was the case against the Rowdies to complete this excellent attacking move that started in the back and ended with McGuire and Rodriguez playing a 1-2 to put the forward in behind.
It was just one good pass on a night full of them for the young winger, who combined well with his teammates, played decent defensively when called upon, and helped his team secure a decisive win in knockout competition in his first start with Orlando City.
2025 Final Grade
The Mane Land must give Rodriguez an incomplete grade for the 2025 season, as his 383 total minutes played across all competitions with the first team falls 67 minutes shy of the minimum threshold of 450 minutes necessary to earn a rating. Rodriguez wasn’t trusted with enough first-team minutes as he settled in with the club.
2026 Outlook
With at least two years left on his contract, Rodriguez will be with Orlando City next season unless the club gets an offer for him or he asks for a transfer. The young Colombian has a lot of upside but must improve upon his decision making and defensive work to get more regular minutes. It doesn’t help that his preferred postition as a winger on the right side makes him a backup behind Designated Player Marco Pasalic, but he can provide valuable rest for the Croatian (should he remain with the club amidst reported interest from German clubs) in his second season with the Lions. I expect Rodriguez to have a continued backup role, but if he can stay healthy, he should play more minutes in 2026 than he did during his first year in Orlando.