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Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Final Score 4-3 as Lions Outlast Union in Wild Game

The Lions threw away a two-goal lead but won it late on Martin Ojeda’s second of the match.

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Image of Martin Ojeda attempting a penalty kick against Philadelphia.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City built a 2-0 lead in the first half, a 3-1 lead in the second half, threw its lead away late and won it even later in a wild 4-3 Lions victory over the Philadelphia Union at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. Martin Ojeda scored the first and last of the four goals for Orlando City (4-8-1, 13 points), with Griffin Dorsey and Duncan McGuire finding the net in between. Philadelphia (1-9-3, 6 points) entered the match with one of the worst offenses in Major League Soccer, but Milan Iloski, Cavan Sullivan, and Ben Bender found the net in the second half against an OCSC defense that offered little resistance, conceding 24 shot attempts and 10 corners despite winning the possession battle.

Despite blowing numerous scoring opportunities that might have put the game out of reach earlier and conceding far too many chances (and goals) to a team with a struggling offense, the Lions have won two straight at home to pull level at 3-3-0 in games at Inter&Co Stadium.

“Of course, happy with the victory. I think the guys are doing a big effort. We did a really good game in terms of performance as well,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We made some mistakes that created the game everybody saw, but at the end of the day, I learned in this game to enjoy the victories and and this is what we are going to do, of course, knowing that we have things to continue improving, but we know the process we are in.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Dorsey. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield inside of wingers Ivan Angulo and Tiago, with Martin Ojeda and Justin Ellis leading the attack.

The game started slowly, without much action in either final third for the first 10 minutes. Braian Ojeda jumpstarted the first dangerous-looking attack with a heavy touch in the attacking third, turning the ball over and starting Philadelphia on the counter. He made up for the turnover, however, by hustling back to block the Union’s shot at the other end in the 10th minute.

Martin Ojeda then began to befuddle the Philadelphia defense, getting in behind alone on goal multiple times. He wasted the first opportunity on a great pass from Ellis that put him in but on his weaker right foot and he fired over the bar in the 11th minute. A minute later, Ojeda got onto a long ball behind the Union’s back line again, but this time he stumbled on his approach to the box and went down under light contact. No foul was given, and the Argentine didn’t even get a shot attempt off on his second breakaway.

Jeremy Rafanello tried an audacious shot from at least 35 yards out in the 13th minute that forced Crepeau to tip it over the bar. Danley Jean Jacques shook loose for a free header at the near post but sent his effort well off target. Iloski found some space outside the area in the 17th minute on the left, but he sent his shot over the crossbar.

Seconds later, the Lions broke the scoreless deadlock. Ellis again put the ball through for Martin Ojeda, who took the ball under control and blazed past the Union defense and into the box. Andrew Rick came off his line and the Argentine made a quick move to round him. Rick tripped Ojeda up, conceding an obvious penalty and picking up a yellow card. The Designated Player took the spot kick himself, waited for Rick to dive to his right, and calmly slotted his shot home to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute.

Philadelphia responded well after conceding, keeping a spell of pressure in Orlando’s end but not creating much from it. Orlando’s defense made some timely blocks to deny the ball getting into threatening areas and eventually the Lions settled back into the flow of the game.

Orlando City then came forward through Tiago’s hard work in the 27th minute as he worked his way into traffic in the box. Locked in a battle with a defender, Dorsey took the ball from both coming in from behind and smashed it home to make it 2-0.

For Dorsey, it was his first goal in MLS play as a Lion. He celebrated by putting the ball under his shirt, simulating a pregnancy to honor his wife.

“I’ve been waiting to celebrate with the fans. I had a goal that was a handball. I got to celebrate that one, but it was called off, so it just feels good to get my first one at home,” Dorsey said. “And then, yeah, to announce that my wife is pregnant, due in December, is exciting. And we’re super excited.”

The Union again went on the attack after conceding, racking up lots of set pieces, including seven first-half corners in total and several long throw-ins that caused issues for Orlando City. In the aftermath of one of those set plays in the 38th minute, Iloski chipped a shot onto the roof of Crepeau’s net.

Orlando had an opportunity to break in transition off one of those set pieces in the 40th minute with Ellis and Angulo blazing forward against one defender. However, in one of the few misplaced passes of the half, Ellis couldn’t get his through ball past the defender to send the Colombian in behind.

The Union quickly started piling up more set pieces and came within inches of getting on the board in the 43rd minute when Geiner Martinez’s header hit the crossbar and rolled across the top of it, falling in play on the other side of the net. Orlando City was able to clear and take the pressure off for the moment.

The five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half were eventful ones. Martin Ojeda took a pass from Ellis on the right and cut in on his left foot, but Bender got in front to block his shot.

Until he was subbed off in the second half, Ellis was pulling the strings for the Orlando attack from a deeper position than usual, shaded toward the right side of the pitch.

“I think we were trying to win the interior sides of the field, like not wide but at the back of both wingers who jump and press,” Perelman said. “We wanted to do it either in a direct manner or through the midfielder, the interior, and Justin feels comfortable himself in there, and from there, he can hurt opponents with his talent. That was part of the plan. It wasn’t something rigid. It’s more about him, because sometimes he has not the freedom, but the opportunity, to read the game and see where does he feel more comfortable. I think he felt comfortable in that area. He felt himself able to play in a good way, and for us was useful, and we were able to create attacking sequences from there. So, that worked for a big part of the game.”

Philadelphia went the other way and quickly won yet another corner, with Iloski firing a shot from a tight angle that Crepeau saved. The Union worked a short corner late in added time and Iloski blazed a shot through traffic but sent it just wide of the right post on the last action of the opening period.

At the break, the Lions held the advantage in possession (57.7%-42.3%) and passing accuracy (87.6%-83.6%), while the Union had more shots (11-4) and corners (7-0). Each team put two shots on target and the difference is that both of Orlando’s went in.

Orlando City started brightly in the opening few minutes of the second half. Martin Ojeda looked to be pulled down just inside or at the top of the area, but no foul was given. Moments later, Ellis weaved his way through defenders on the right side and got into the box. However, just as he cleared the traffic and lined up his shot, Ellis slipped on the surface slick from a hard halftime rain and scuffed his shot attempt in the 48th minute.

Iloski pulled Philadelphia back into the game in the 54th minute off a turnover by Martin Ojeda, who sent a blind pass from the left wing into an area without a teammate. The Union broke the other way and Harriel roasted Brekalo getting in down the right. Harriel squared the ball back for Iloski in front and it was an easy finish from point-blank range to make it 2-1.

Three minutes later, Philadelphia came within inches of equalizing off their ninth corner kick of the game. Olwethu Makhanya was poorly marked in the box and sent a header toward the near post. Crepeau got over just in time to make a huge save, keeping it out with a strong left hand.

The Lions finally generated another chance in the 59th minute. Dorsey did well to get to a long ball on the right but his momentum carried him outside. He tried to play it left for Tiago, but that took the Brazilian into an even tighter angle on the other side. Tiago tried to leave it off for Angulo, but the pass was deflected by the defense to end the threat.

Dorsey was again involved a minute later on a set piece from long range. Martin Ojeda sent his delivery from left to right and the right back sent a diving header over the target.

Harriel fizzed a shot over the bar in the 62nd from long range. Four minutes later, Sullivan blasted a shot from the right just wide of the left post as the usually low-scoring Union continued to look like Barcelona against Orlando’s shaky, league-worst defense.

The Lions should have added a goal in the 70th as Martin Ojeda unselfishly put the ball in front of an empty net for Angulo, but the Colombian mistimed his jump and missed the ball. Nevertheless, it looked like Orlando put the game away just moments later.

The Lions broke three on one and second-half sub Tyrese Spicer sent the ball from the left to fellow sub McGuire. The big striker left his shot too close to Rick but the goalkeeper could only get a piece of it and it went in to make it 3-1 in the 72nd minute. He celebrated with his signature back flip.

“It was definitely a well-done play from Spicer and Martin (Ojeda),” McGuire said. “Martin helped drag the defender away, but we definitely knew that they were vulnerable in the transition, and we were able to exploit that. Spicer played an amazing ball across and just set it up nicely for me.”

McGuire’s goal did not, in fact, put the game away.

Philadelphia wouldn’t go away and Orlando refused to cover opponents in the area, which allowed Sullivan to pull the Union back within a goal three minutes after McGuire scored. Bender sent the ball from Philly’s attacking left into the middle, where Sullivan was all alone, smashing it past Crepeau to make it 3-2 with his first MLS goal.

“I think we didn’t do a good job at, you know, locking back in when they were able to get a goal, and we let them continue to put chances away,” McGuire said. We didn’t get numbers back, myself included, and I think we’ve got to get better at defending as a group when the other team is in transition. But luckily, we were able to get one more goal than them.”

Angulo had a chance to pull that goal right back in the 77th minute, taking a pass in the box, spinning and firing a weak shot straight at Rick for the easy save. Two minutes after that, Martin Ojeda again got behind, this time on the left side. He fired over the bar, slipping on the wet surface. Those were costly missed chances, because the Union tied the game moments later.

The Union got forward in a three-on-three break that morphed into more of a four-on-five as the ball cycled from Philadelphia’s attacking right to left. Bender was alone in space on the left near the top of the area and fired a shot just inside the right post to tie the game in the 79th minute. The ball went through Dorsey’s legs and took a slight deflection that pushed it into an area Crepeau couldn’t reach.

“I think, starting with myself and going down the line of experienced players that we have on the field, we need to find a way, and once again, starting with myself, to be more professional, to end these types of games in a way where we take the opponent completely out of the game,” Dorsey said. “Because I think this is a game we definitely could have done that, and we gave them opportunities to get back in the game when we shouldn’t have.”

Things got scarier for Orlando fans as the Lions started turning the ball over cheaply all over the pitch, giving Philadelphia opportunities to hunt for a late winner. Perelman pulled Dorsey off and subbed in Marco Pasalic, going to three at the back with wingbacks to try to regain some control of the defensive end.

Still, Philadelphia’s anemic offense found opportunities to win it. Harriel shook free down the right and blasted a shot that hit the crossbar near the left post and stayed out in the 88th minute. Off the restart, Martin Ojeda’s pass was off line and went out, giving the Union a throw-in. Philadelphia quickly sent the ball into the box and Jean Jacques headed the ball toward goal. Crepeau got caught halfway between his line and where the shot was taken. The Canadian was fortunate to see the header go just over the crossbar in the 89th minute.

The winner came seconds later. Angulo sent substitute Adrian Marin down the left in the 90th minute and the Spaniard sent in a cross. Martin Ojeda got to it and flicked a header past Rick to make it 4-3 with his ninth goal of the season in MLS play. Only three players in Major League Soccer have scored more goals than the Argentine this season.

“(We) definitely made it harder on ourselves than it needed to be, but I think we did a good job at responding when they tied it up,” McGuire said. “I think we needed to look for that third goal more quickly and put the game away. And without doing that, we let Philly get some hope, and they did a good job clawing back, but really proud of the boys for sticking with it and staying confident and getting the win.”

The Lions played better during the seven minutes of stoppage time and even fashioned a chance that should have put the game out of reach. Spicer ran onto an aerial ball and attempted a diving header from close range, but the Trinidad & Tobago international sent his shot right at the goalkeeper.

Orlando held off a couple more set pieces and ran out the clock on Philadelphia to get back in the win column.

Across the 90 minutes, Orlando City finished with the advantage in possession (54.8%-45.2%) and passing accuracy (84.9%-80.9%), but Philadelphia led in shots (24-12), shots on target (7-6), and corners (10-2). The Lions were just lethal enough to finish one more chance than the Union on a night that might have seen Orlando score three or four additional goals had the attacking players been more precise.

“We’ll take a win. I think that’s all I’ve got to say,” Dorsey said. “Yeah. We’ll take a win.”

“We see the big picture, the big movie, the players as well, the club as well,” Perelman said. “And little by little, we’re still growing. This is our fourth game at home since we started this process, and we really want to win when we come home. So, I’m happy for that. Looking forward to continuing in this pathway.”


The Lions have another quick turnaround but at least they won’t have to travel, as rival Atlanta United visits on Saturday.

Orlando City

Orlando’s Loan Report: More Minutes, More Opportunities

Performances of players from Orlando City and the Pride who are currently out on loan.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

With eight games remaining, Orlando City enters the homestretch of its season with a critical Saturday matchup against the surging Philadelphia Union. Philly enters having won its last five games and now sits one spot above the Lions in the Eastern Conference standings. Ugh. Thankfully, the Union will be without rising star Cavan Sullivan (goal contributions in five straight games, I would like him to stop this immediately), but he is out for the same reason that David Brekalo, Wilder Cartagena, Justin Ellis, Marco Pašalić, and Tyrese Spicer will be out, as all were called up to their respective national teams for the FIFA international window.

With those five players out, Braian Ojeda still injured, and Griffin Dorsey and Antoine Griezmann’s injury status still to be determined (please get healthy soon, gentlemen), the Lions will likely need to rely on players from OCB in order to fill out their roster for Saturday’s game. Part of the reason they will have to do so is that there are currently two players on the senior roster (Nico Rodriguez and Yutaro Tsukada) and one on the supplemental roster (Colin Guske) out on loan.

The Pride actually one-up the Lions, as they have four players out on loan: Kat Asman, Seven Castain, Simone Jackson, and Anna Moorhouse. Among the seven total loaned-out Orlando players, four are young (Castain, Jackson, Guske, and Rodriguez are 23 or younger), two are mid-20s (Asman is 26 and Tsukada is 25), and Moorhouse is the oldest at 31, which is still a prime age for a goalkeeper.

Emma Hayes, the coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was recently quoted as saying “I don’t care where you play, but you need to be playing…going into a pro environment is a fabulous situation, but not if you are going to sit on the bench for two or three years.” Excluding Moorhouse, who is in a different situation than the other loaned out players, the six loanees (and really just five of them, since Rodriguez was loaned out before the season) combined for 1,241 minutes and 10 starts for the senior teams in Orlando, with a lot of those minutes coming in the beginning of the season and trailing off as the season went on and the pushes for the playoffs became real.

Those players have already played more than 3,000 minutes with their new clubs, with Castain and Jackson starting eight of their nine games with their new teams and Guske and Tsukada starting eight of their 12. Asman is a goalkeeper, so minutes are harder to come by, but she started three games, and Rodriguez, who is the only one who did not leave mid-season, started 18 of his 24 games before injuring his knee in late August. The table below shows the performance of all of the loanees thus far, using data from Sofascore:

PlayerLoaned ToMinsSofascore RatingKey Stats
Kat AsmanDenver Summit2707.100.67 Goals-against Avg/82% Sv Pct
Seven CastainDallas Trinity4756.73Two goals
Simone JacksonFC Rosengård2477.201.7 chances created per 90
Anna MoorhouseManchester City0N/AN/A
Colin GuskeReal Salt Lake2256.7090% completion rate
Nico RodriguezAtlético Nacional1,4066.77Two goals, four assists
Yutaro TsukadaRhode Island FC4516.90Two goals, two assists

Sofascore ratings are out of 10, with top players in a league generally scoring in the low to mid-sevens and truly elite players scoring closer to, or even above, eight. None of the loanees are dominating their new leagues, but all are playing decent minutes (most of the loans only happened in mid-summer, it is unknown if they happened after Ricardo Moreira or Caitlin Carducci had a midsummer night’s dream) and contributing to their teams.

The one exception to that, as noted earlier, is Moorhouse, the long-time starter for the Pride who was replaced a few weeks ago and then was loaned to Manchester City shortly thereafter. She has yet to play for Manchester City, and considering she was only loaned through January 2027, she may have been loaned out more to provide cover for the WSL team in case of injury as opposed to getting minutes now that Cosette Morché has taken over as the Pride’s starting goalkeeper.

As Hayes mentioned during her interview, playing real minutes in a game with consequences is key for development. On the MLS side, there is MLS NEXT Pro, where an increasing number of Orlando City players are playing thousands of minutes in preparation for a move to the senior team. Rodriguez’s loan to the Colombian league and Tsukada’s to the USL Championship are slightly different pathways but ones that could still bear fruit, though based on the results on the field, neither are dominating in their leagues.

Opta ranks Colombia’s Primera A as the 15th best league in the world and the USA’s USL Championship as 121st, whereas MLS is ranked 19th, so that seems to show better for Rodriguez than Tsukada, as does the fact that Rodriguez was originally signed as an MLS U22 Initiative player, so there was always belief in his potential to develop. Guske is still playing in the same league as the Lions, so viewing his progression is easier, and with Real Salt Lake still fighting for playoff spot in the Western Conference, the young midfielder will play in some high-pressure games as the season winds down.

Back on the women’s side, if Moorhouse gets any minutes, they will be against some of the bets competition in the world, as Manchester City plays in Opta’s second-ranked domestic women’s league and is qualified for the Champions League as well. Her fellow goalkeeper Asman appears to be the backup again in Denver, but she played well in her three appearances against Portland, Chicago, and Gotham, and between Portland and Gotham, she faced two of the top five teams in the NWSL and allowed only one goal across those two games.

Jackson is playing in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, the sixth-best domestic league in the world, and Castain is in the USL Super League, the 18th-best league, so Jackson is facing the better competition and performing better, according to Sofascore’s tracking. The critical piece for both players was getting game minutes, which they are, and would likely not have gotten had they stayed in Orlando, especially without a developmental league like MLS NEXT Pro on the women’s side.

The upshot of all of the loans might not be that any of these seven players ever contribute meaningfully to the Orlando teams in the future, but the alternative was likely that they would play minimal minutes and live out what Hayes said was not recommended: being a pro but sitting on the bench for two or three years.

These loans gave all of the players an opportunity to play and the club a chance to see them under pressure. We will see the impact of those minutes in the off-season — when the loan reports come due, hopefully with interest.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against the Philadelphia Union?

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Image of Daryl Dike playing against Club Leon.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The USMNT may be at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday, but Orlando City is headed to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Union in a big Eastern Conference match. The Lions are fighting to stay in the playoff picture down the stretch, and a good result this weekend is crucial. It won’t be easy, as there are plenty of players out due to international duty and injury. What must the Lions do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union?

Battle of the Backups (Part 1)

Both Orlando City and the Philadelphia Union will be missing players due to international call-ups. For the Lions, the team will be without Justin Ellis, Wilder Cartagena, David Brekalo, Marco Pasalic, and Tyrese Spicer. Whichever players replace them will need to do as well or better. Fortunately, only two of those players are regular starters. I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt the depth, but it could be worse. 

Iago will likely start next to Robin Jansson at center back. In the past, that would worry me — and it still does to an extent — but he played better in his last outing. He will almost certainly get a yellow card in this match, so don’t be surprised when that happens, but I’m hoping he’ll give us at least as good of a performance as his last start. 

Battle of the Backups (Part 2)

On the other side, the Union are missing a few key players in Cavan Sullivan and Andre Blake. Even though he is only 16 years old, Sullivan has come on strong of late, scoring seven goals and providing 12 assists. I hope he does some of that against Peru this weekend, but I’m glad he won’t be able to do so against Orlando City. Blake is a very experienced MLS goalkeeper. His backup, Andrew Rick, gave up four goals to the Lions the last time the clubs played, so let’s hope that continues.

Philadelphia is also missing defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. This may be the most vulnerable the Union have been on defense since the World Cup break. The Lions need to take advantage of that — more on that below. The match is in Philadelphia, and the Union will want revenge for the 4-3 loss earlier this season, so we’ll have to see which set of backups are best able to step up.

Update the Attack

Unfortunately, with Antoine Griezmann still recovering and Ellis with the USMNT, the attack will need to replace their effective partnership. I’m not certain that is entirely possible, but there are several options. Martin Ojeda is rounding back into form and Ivan Angulo has three goals in the last three matches. I don’t think anyone had that on their 2026 Bingo card. These two can be a one-two combo for the Lions in the final third. 

Tyrese Spicer is a great super sub, but he’s not always great when he gets the start. Daryl Dike is the other side of that coin. Because of how Martin Perelman has been running the offense, Dike hasn’t gotten many starts, which is unfortunate because I think he’s better when he starts rather than comes off the bench. With the player availability being what it is, I expect he will start against Philadelphia, providing a big problem for the Union to deal with when Ojeda and Angulo are also circling the box.


That is what I will be looking for on Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/24/26

Orlando City prepares for the Philadelphia Union, Angelina called up by Brazil, Parker Amoo-Mensah joins U.S. U-19 camp, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me, but I’m excited for a weekend filled with soccer at both the club and international levels. My fingers will stay crossed until then in hopes that we can see some wins. Until then though, let’s dive into today’s links!

Orlando City Prepares for Philadelphia Union

The Lions are back in action on Saturday with a road game against the Philadelphia Union. The Union have been on an absolute tear of late, winning their past five games and scoring 19 goals during that stretch. Both teams will be without key players away on international duty, so it will be interesting to see how they line up for this Eastern Conference showdown. Interim head coach Martin Perelman spoke on the team’s preparations heading into the match.

Angelina Called Up By Brazil

Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina was called up for Brazil’s pair of friendlies against Argentina next month. These will be Brazil’s first matches since playing the U.S. twice in June. Angelina, Marta, and Rafaelle were all called up for those previous friendlies, but Angelina is the only Pride player headed to Brazil this time around. While the Pride have endured a rough season, hopefully Angelina can impress at the international level as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup next summer.

Parker Amoo-Mensah Heads to Camp

Orlando City B defender Parker Amoo-Mensah was one of 20 players called up for the United States U-19 Men’s National Team training camp in Spain. The 18-year-old made his professional debut this year and signed with OCB in June on a contract through 2028. This will be the first U-19 camp under Head Coach Rob Valentino, who was previously an Orlando City player in the USL days and an assistant coach with OCB.

Getting Ready for the USMNT Friendlies

The United States Men’s National Team will start its series of friendlies in Orlando with a home game against Peru. It will be the first match since the World Cup, and there’s plenty of intrigue over who Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino will choose to start from a roster that includes plenty of new faces, including Orlando City forward Justin Ellis. He’s part of a group of forwards who have nothing but opportunity in front of them to make an impression at the top of the lineup. After matches against Peru and Chile, the U.S. will have a not-so-friendly friendly against Mexico before closing things out against Canada.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City’s Maxime Crepeau and Harvey Sarajian got to show off their bartending skills for patrons at Gnarly Barley last night.
  • LAFC forward Son Heung-Min won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his goal in LAFC’s 2-2 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.
  • Federico Higuain was fired as the head coach of Columbus Crew 2 after an incident where he grabbed a female referee and made a sexist comment to her.
  • The USMNT’s winter training camp that normally takes place in January and features many MLS players will reportedly take place in December instead.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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