Orlando City Off to Historically Bad Start

Orlando City has had a dreadful start to the 2026 MLS season. In fact, the Lions are on pace to set league records for futility.

The club began the season with an innocuous start, losing 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls. The Lions followed that with their best half of the season, leading Inter Miami 2-0 at the break. But they fell apart, beginning a tumble that has us reaching into the history books.

After conceding four goals in the second half to lose 4-2, the Lions lost 5-0 to New York City FC. It was the first of three games in which the Lions would lose in such a fashion. That disaster was followed by a 2-1 win over CF Montreal — expected to be one of the worst teams in the league — the only glimmer of hope the team has shown this season.

Since then, Orlando City has recorded a 5-0 loss to Nashville SC and a 6-0 loss Saturday night to Los Angeles FC. These results don’t just have the team floundering near the bottom of the standings, they place Orlando in historical company.

The worst defensive start to an MLS season came in 2017, when expansion side Minnesota United conceded 22 goals in the first six games. It was the start of a year in which the team would concede 70 goals, a then-league record.

That record has been broken three times in subsequent years — Orlando City in 2018 (74), FC Cincinnati in 2019 (75), and the San Jose Earthquakes in 2024 (77).

Similar to Orlando City this year, Minnesota conceded five goals twice and six goals once in 2017, the only two times that’s happened in MLS history. The Lions also tacked on a game in which they conceded four goals, while the Loons conceded twice in each of their other three games.

Orlando City’s 23 goals conceded through six matches broke Minnesota’s record of 22, making this the worst start for any team in MLS history.

Making things worse for the Lions, there’s been little offense to speak of. While Minnesota was leaking goals early in the 2017 campaign, the Loons were scoring some for themselves. They netted multiple goals in three of their first six games that year, including a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake for their first MLS victory.

Orlando City, on the other hand, has been nearly as bad offensively as defensively. The Lions have been shut out three times, all away from home. In those three games, they’ve been outscored a remarkable 16-0.

It hasn’t been much better at home, where the Lions have all five of their goals. While Minnesota had a -12 goal difference after its first six games in 2017, the Lions have a -18 goal difference.

If this rate continues, Orlando City would concede 130 goals, demolishing San Jose’s league record. Of course, every team eventually bounces out of these types of ruts, and the Lions will as well. They won’t keep conceding five and six goals every game as they are right now. Though limiting the damage to one or two goals seems unlikely for the foreseeable future.

“We will face it and we will continue working because this season is long,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after Saturday night’s loss. “We are not the first team in the history of this league to experience something like this and we’re not going to be the last one. So, we don’t like it. We accept it, and we are angry, and we will try to continue working and put this team where it should be.” 

What makes the start to the 2026 season even more upsetting for Orlando City fans is how long the team has been in the league. Historically bad seasons are typically reserved for expansion sides that are still building their team and culture.

Minnesota’s dismal 2017 season was its first in MLS after moving up from the NASL. Similarly, FC Cincinnati’s rough 2019 campaign was its first after making the jump from the USL. While Orlando City wasn’t an expansion side in 2018, it was only the club’s fourth in MLS and it was going through a complete rebuild with almost an entirely new roster.

San Jose wasn’t an expansion team in 2024, but at least the Earthquakes’ poor performance was expected. Leading up to that year, the Quakes finished 10th, 14th, and ninth in the Western Conference, only reaching the wild card round in 2023. They finished 21st, 26th, and 16th in the Supporters’ Shield rankings.

The Lions’ play early this season has been more disappointing than any team before them. They’ve qualified for the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and are two years removed from hosting the Eastern Conference final, in which they came within one goal of the MLS Cup final.

While they finished ninth last year, the position alone is misleading. The Lions had a chance to finish as high as fourth with only three games remaining, but drew the Columbus Crew at home and gave up two late goals against the Vancouver Whitecaps when much of the Canadian team’s lineup was missing during an international break.

Orlando City saw the departures of key players to the team’s recent success like Pedro Gallese, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Cesar Araujo. The club also sold starting right back Alex Freeman to La Liga side Villarreal just before the season.

With the exception of Freeman, the team felt it could improve at every position. But that hasn’t happened. In fact, the Lions have gotten worse at goalkeeper and across the back line, which has led to the team’s historically bad start.

Fortunately, the Lions have finished their gauntlet of an away schedule to start the year. NYCFC, Nashville, and LAFC will likely be among the best teams in the league this year. Sunday’s game is against a much more manageable opponent in Columbus. I still wouldn’t expect a win Sunday night, but it likely won’t be as bad as the thrashings the Lions have received in their first three games away from home.

The other important change is the return of Robin Jansson. The club captain was listed as questionable for the LAFC game, indicating he’s getting closer to a return after foot surgery. His veteran presence on the back line has always made a difference and is desperately needed right now.

The start of the 2026 MLS season has gone about as poorly as possible for Orlando City. It’s the worst start to any season in the 31-year history of the league. If the team doesn’t turn it around soon, it could be a historically bad year when it’s all said and finished.

But with the captain on his way back and a much easier schedule approaching, the team and its fans hope better days are just around the corner.