Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions' road match in Charlotte in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Orlando City’s next goal will tie the MLS regular season club record of 63, set last season. Orlando has either tied or broken this record in each of the past three seasons and is on pace to do so again in 2026.
- Antoine Griezmann can set a new club record of 13 straight MLS regular season matches with a goal contribution if he scores or assists a goal against Charlotte. Griezmann’s current run (12) is tied for second in MLS history, three games back of Josef MartÃnez’s league-record 15 set in 2019.Â
- MartÃn Ojeda’s next assist, his 48th in all competitions for Orlando City, will see him past Mauricio Pereyra for sole possession of the all-time club record. Ojeda is three goal contributions away from being the first Orlando City player to reach 100 in all competitions for the club.
- Ojeda’s next goal will see him tie Cyle Larin’s 2015 season for the most in a single MLS regular season in Orlando City history with 17. Ojeda is two goals away from tying Larin for the most regular season goals in club history at 43.
- Iván Angulo, at 45 assists, is two helpers away from Pereyra and Ojeda for the club record.
Stats & Storylines
-Â Orlando City can clinch its seventh consecutive Audi MLS Cup Playoffs berth with a win in one of its final two games. The Lions have the longest active streak of consecutive postseasons in MLS with six.
- The Lions did miss a chance to put a little cushion between themselves and FC Cincinnati for the seventh and final guaranteed spot in the Best-of-3 Round One series, losing a 2-0 lead and drawing 2-2 at Chicago on Wednesday night despite another brilliant 1g/1a performance from Antoine Griezmann. Orlando is tied on points with Cincinnati, but sits in seventh thanks to having one more win than the Orange and Blue. The Chicago game marked Orlando City’s eighth straight match scoring multiple goals.Â
- Griezmann is up to an extraordinary 12 consecutive MLS games with a goal or an assist, tying MartÃn Ojeda’s club record. Over the course of the run, Griezmann is at 13g/7a and has seven games with at least two goal contributions. Orlando City has not lost any game in which Griezmann has scored a goal dating back to his arrival in July.
- The Lions have three separate players with at least 20 goal contributions in all competitions: Griezmann (15g/8a), MartÃn Ojeda (17g/5a), and Iván Angulo (7g/14a). Angulo scored Orlando’s opener against Chicago on Wednesday night and has now scored 30% of his four-and-a-half-year City career total since Griezmann’s arrival.
- Midfielder LuÃs Otávio had the secondary assist on both Orlando City goals, his first two helpers in a Lions shirt.
Series History
All-time vs. Charlotte FC - 6-2-5, +9 GD (1-1-4, 0 GD away)
MLS only vs. Charlotte FC - 5-1-3, +8 GD (1-0-3, 0 GD away)
2022 - W 2-1 (H), W 1-2 (A)
2023 - L 1-2 (H), L 1-0 (A/USOC), D 1-1 (A)
2024 - D 2-2 (A), W 2-0 (H), W 2-0 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs), D 0-0 (A/MLS Cup Playoffs), D 1-1 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2025 - W 3-1 (H), D 2-2 (A)
2026 - W 4-1 (H)
Meet the opponent: Charlotte FC
-Â Orlando City has owned Charlotte FC since the Crown entered the league in 2022, losing just twice in 13 matchups. The Lions have never lost in four trips to Bank of America Stadium; their only road defeat to Charlotte came at the Sportsplex in Matthews, NC during the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- The Lions tore up the Crown 4-1 back in April at Inter.co Stadium behind a MartÃn Ojeda brace and LuÃs Otávio’s first career senior goal. Orlando is unbeaten in nine against Charlotte dating back more than three years, a run that includes the two sides’ dramatic 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs series that saw Facundo Torres score a 90’+12’ penalty kick to save the Lions’ season in the decisive third game.
- Ojeda has tormented the Crown over the years, posting 5g/3a in seven matches (five starts) against Charlotte in regular season play and adding another goal in the 2024 postseason. Saturday will be Charlotte FC’s first time facing Antoine Griezmann.
- The Crown clinched a playoff berth with a 4-0 rout over CF Montréal on Wednesday and sit just two points back of Chicago for fourth in the Eastern Conference, which would guarantee home field advantage in the Best of 3 First Round. Charlotte is led by attacking midfielder Pep Biel (13g/16a), a Best XI candidate who ranks third in MLS in total goal contributions behind Lionel Messi and Evander. Striker Idan Toklomati has scored in five consecutive matches and has ten goals in his last twelve games dating back to August 19.
