ORLANDO, Fla. (April 22, 2026) – Orlando City SC (2-6-1, 7 points) defeated Charlotte FC (4-3-2, 14 points) 4-1 behind a Martín Ojeda brace on Wednesday night at Inter&Co Stadium.
The Lions opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Midfielder Luís Otávio hit an outside-the-foot shot from distance off a ball from Zakaria Taifi. The goal was Luís Otávio’s first professional tally, while Taifi recorded his second career assist.
Charlotte FC responded in the 33rd minute through Morrison Agyemang, who found the back of the net off of a corner kick to level the match.
The teams went into halftime level before City regained its lead just four minutes into the second half off a strike from Ojeda. Tiago found Justin Ellis, who drove into the box before laying off a ball that Ojeda struck home on his first touch.
Ojeda added his second goal of the match in the 61st minute off a direct free kick, bending his shot around the wall to beat Kristijan Kahlina at his near post. The brace marked the second time this season the midfielder has recorded a multi-goal performance.
The Lions added a fourth goal in stoppage time as Orlando City B midfielder Ignacio Gómez, on short-term agreement through the weekend, scored his first career MLS goal in his second career MLS appearance. Gomez finished off a pass from Iván Angulo, who in tonight's match secured his 150th appearance for the club across all competitions, to lock in all three points.
Orlando City will next hit the road to take on D.C. United on Saturday, April 25, at Audi Field for the first of four consecutive road matches. Kickoff on Apple TV is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
21’ Luís Otávio (Zakaria Taifi) – ORL 1, CLT 0
33’ Morrison Agyemang (Pep Biel) – ORL 1, CLT 1
49’ Martín Ojeda (Justin Ellis, Tiago) – ORL 2, CLT 1
61’ Martín Ojeda – ORL 3, CLT 1
87’ Ignacio Gómez (Iván Angulo) – ORL 4, CLT 1
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“I think the team is in process. We’ve been talking about it all week. The important thing is the performance. It’s hard to say that when you lose like two days ago and easier to say it when you win, but for me, the message is the same: We are working, the team is growing, the players are giving an amazing effort and we didn’t win the league today and we didn’t lose it two days ago. This is a long season. What matters is where we stand at the end. That is our mindset.”
Match Notes
- Forward Iván Angulo made his 150th appearance all-time across all competitions for Orlando City, joining captain Robin Jansson as the only current player to appear in 150 or more matches for the Lions.
- Orlando City B midfielder Ignacio Gómez scored his first career MLS and Orlando City goal after entering the match as a second-half substitute, securing his first goal for the Lions in his second appearance.
- Designated Player Martín Ojeda recorded two goals, his third and fourth goals of the season, and his second multi-goal match of the 2026 campaign.
- Homegrown forward Justin Ellis recorded his first career assist on Ojeda’s first goal of the night, marking his first career goal contribution with Orlando City’s senior team.
- Brazilian forward Tiago recorded his second assist of the 2026 campaign on Ojeda’s first goal, joining Iván Angulo and Zakaria Taifi as the only Lions with two or more assists this season.
- Midfielder Luís Otávio scored the first goal of his professional career. The Brazilian joined the club ahead of the 2026 campaign from Sport Club Internacional of Brazil's Série A.
- Homegrown defender Zakaria Taifi provided the assist on Luís Otávio’s finish, the second of his 2026 campaign and MLS career.
- Orlando City B midfielder Bernardo Rhein made his First Team debut, also on a short-term agreement with the Lions, entering the match as a second-half substitute.
- The match marked forward Justin Ellis’ first MLS start of his career for the Lions.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made two changes to the lineup from the Lions’ previous match against Charlotte FC, with Luís Otávio and Justin Ellis entering the starting XI.
- Defender David Brekalo (lower leg) and Griffin Dorsey (thigh), midfielders Eduard Atuesta (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (thigh) and Joran Gerbet (knee) and forwards Duncan McGuire (lower leg) and Marco Pašalić (thigh) all missed the match due to injury. Forward Tyrese Spicer also missed the match due to illness.
