COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 16, 2026) — Orlando City SC’s run in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup came to an end after a 2-1 semifinal loss to the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
The hosts struck first in the ninth minute via Josef Martínez after he capitalized on a lofted ball from Santiago Rodríguez. Orlando then answered in the 40th minute when Justin Ellis made a solo run from deep in midfield, bypassing multiple Columbus defenders to slide a ball over to Martín Ojeda, who ripped a shot from distance to equalize.
Columbus found the eventual game-winner in the 52nd minute as Brais Méndez made a perfectly timed run into the box to volley in a cross from Rodriguez.
Orlando City now turns its focus to league play, currently sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference as it looks to extend the longest active playoff appearances streak in MLS to seven consecutive seasons. The Lions will travel to Gillette Stadium, this Saturday, Sept. 19, to take on the New England Revolution. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV.
Scoring Summary:
9’ Josef Martínez (Santiago Rodríguez) – CLB 1, ORL 0
40’ Martín Ojeda (Justin Ellis) – ORL 1, CLB 1
52’ Brais Méndez (Santiago Rodríguez) – CLB 2, ORL 1
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“The defeat is recent, so we need to digest it and go through that pain and process as quickly as possible. It’s a hard one. We really expected to move forward in the competition. We were expecting that from ourselves. We made a huge effort to arrive here and we are so sad about the defeat. So now it’s about embracing that process, doing it as fast as possible because we have a quick turnaround and the team is on a good pathway in the league and we need to return to that. We will do the self-critique, not only the players but also the coaching staff, everybody together, in the good and bad moments. We will do that and continue being strong, knowing that there’s a lot of time to go in the league and that we want to compete, perform and win.”
Match Notes
- Martín Ojeda scored his 12th goal of the 2026 campaign across all competitions, marking his 45th tally all-time for the Lions and moving him to within two of the Club record holder Facundo Torres (47).
- Justin Ellis provided his team-leading 12th assist across all competitions this year and all-time for Orlando.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made four changes to his starting lineup from the club’s previous match against Toronto FC, inserting Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis, Robin Jansson and Bernardo Rhein into the starting XI.
- Defender Adrián Marín missed the match with a thigh injury, while midfielder Braian Ojeda was unavailable with a foot injury.
