Top 10 Moments of 2025: Martín Ojeda Scores Orlando City’s First Hat Trick Since 2015

As we count down to the new year of 2026 — which will be Orlando City’s 12th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 11th in the NWSL, and OCB’s fourth in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2025, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

Despite my wish for it not to be so, 2015 was a long time ago (this article is publishing on Christmas Eve, so we must start with a rhyme).

Orlando City’s first season in MLS was way back in 2015, and that season 10 years ago seems almost like it happened in a different universe as I think back on it, with the club playing its games in Camping World Stadium (then called the Citrus Bowl) and in a league that had 10 fewer teams and one fewer player named Messi who gets whatever he wants than it does now. The Orlando Pride were not yet in existence and neither was Orlando City B, but the Lions debuted in their purple uniforms and came close to qualifying for the playoffs in their debut season, finishing one spot below the line in the Eastern Conference and one spot ahead of their expansion brethren NYCFC, who back then, as now, played in a baseball stadium that is utterly unsuited for soccer.

Going into the club’s debut season Orlando City had won the “Priority Draft” and the opportunity to make the first selection in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, and with that first selection the Lions chose Cyle Larin. The Canadian hit the ground running, winning the MLS Rookie of the Year Award after setting the league’s rookie record for goals scored in a season with 17, an amount that also still stands for the Lions as the most scored by an Orlando City player in an MLS season.

Larin’s 17 goals included not one but two hat tricks, punishing both New York teams, and Orlando City fans at the time could be forgiven for thinking that hat tricks like in the video below (Larin’s second hat trick of the season) would be events that they would see frequently in the years to come.

That did not happen.

After Larin’s second hat trick of the 2015 MLS season the Lions went 10 years until their next one, though they did manage to allow seven different opposing players to score hat tricks in between. In fact, there were 125 total hat tricks in MLS play in between Larin’s hat trick against the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 25, 2015 and the Lions finally ending their hat trick-less streak this season, and every team except Sporting Kansas City, St. Louis City, and San Diego had at least one during that time, and St. Louis (2023) and San Diego (2025) just recently joined MLS.

Perhaps Larin put a curse on the team after his acrimonious departure from the club or perhaps it was just bad luck, but after his phenomenal performance in New York, the well ran dry on hat tricks.

That is, until May 10 of this year, when Martín Ojeda decided that enough was enough and put three goals past New England. Alas, his three goals were not enough to earn the Lions three points, as they gave up three themselves and squandered that hat trick in a 3-3 draw at Inter&Co Stadium.

The Argentinean came into the game on a cold streak, having gone six straight games without a goal, and after starting the first nine games of the season, he had been moved to a bench role in the two previous MLS games. After this outstanding performance against New England he went on to start every game except one during the rest of the season though — a wise decision by Óscar Pareja, as Ojeda became the first Lion to achieve 30 goal contributions in a season.

Ojeda’s run to 30 did not start against New England, but his three goals in this game certainly helped propel him forward. Speaking of propelling forwards, Ojeda’s first goal against New England might have been the hardest shot he took all season. Physics will tell you that his shot could not have started to accelerate halfway toward the goal, but the video clip below certainly makes it look like it did, as Ojeda hit a shot that looked more like a NASA rocket launch than a soccer shot and blew by goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič before he get even get his hands up in the air.

Just 10 minutes later Ojeda had his brace, as he timed his run perfectly to sprint onto a well-played through ball by Joran Gerbet. He shifted from power to flair for this goal, showing some fancy footwork to get the ball onto his favored left foot and then placing a low, hard shot into the near corner, putting Orlando City up 2-0.

Ojeda then succeeded like no other Orlando City player had since 2015, scoring his third goal of the game after Gerbet was fouled in the box, earning a penalty kick for the Lions. He took the spot kick confidently, stutter stepping slightly to get Ivačič to commit to one side and then putting his shot to the opposite side, restoring the Lions’ lead and causing hats to fly in the purple smoke filled air.

Orlando City could not hold that lead, as the Lions gave up a penalty kick of their own late in the game that New England converted to tie the game at 3-3. That was how the game ended, a frustrating result for the team, as twice the lads in purple could not hold a lead and allowed the Revolution to get back level.

The team result is always more important than any individual accomplishment, and as a selfless leader, Ojeda surely would have traded his three goals for three points. As we look back on the 2025 season, May 10 certainly stands out as one of the best performances by any player in a single game though, and for that, plus the fact that he ended a 10-year hat-trick drought, Ojeda’s three-goal game is a worthy inclusion in the top 10 moments of the year.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2025 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.

Previous Top Moments of 2025

10. Orlando City clinches a playoff berth for a sixth consecutive season on Alex Freeman’s late game-tying goal.

9. Luis Muriel’s hat trick powers Lions to Leagues Cup knockout rounds.