Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions away trip to D.C. United in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- MartÃn Ojeda is three goals away from 40 in all competitions for Orlando City. Ojeda would become the third player in club history to score 40 goals, following Facundo Torres (47) and Cyle Larin (44), and the first with both 40 goals and 40 assists.
- Ojeda’s most recent goal stood as his 30th in Major League Soccer regular-season action, making him the third player to reach that figure for the club after Larin (43) and Torres (37).
- Orlando City is seeking consecutive victories for the first time since last August, when it defeated Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City in MLS play as part of a four-game winning streak in all competitions.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City finally put it all together on Wednesday night, firing off three second half goals in a dominant 4-1 victory over Charlotte FC. The win was the Lions’ second in the past three games and marked the fourth consecutive match in which Orlando allowed one goal or fewer.
- MartÃn Ojeda roared to life with a trademark performance, walloping a Justin Ellis cutback into the back of the net early in the second half to give the Lions the lead for good and following up with a perfectly-placed free kick that put the game away just after the hour mark. Ojeda has four goals to lead Orlando City in 2026.
- MartÃn Perelman, now 3-3-1 in all competitions as Orlando City interim head coach, continues to give young players opportunities. With a staggering eight regular players unavailable (Marco PaÅ¡alić, Duncan McGuire, Wilder Cartagena, Eduard Atuesta, Griffin Dorsey, David Brekalo, Tyrese Spicer, Joran Gerbet), the Lions leaned on youth, starting all three of their U22 Initiative players and featuring four Homegrown players.Â
- Top prospect Justin Ellis earned his first MLS start and put together a complete performance, showing confidence on the ball and displaying his strong hold-up play and defensive nous from the front. Ellis’ assist on Ojeda’s first goal was the teenager’s first goal contribution for the first team.
- Among other young players who featured, Homegrown Zakaria Taifi and U22 Tiago also contributed assists in the game. Ignacio Gómez, called up from Orlando City B for the second straight game, scored his first MLS goal to ice the game in the 87th minute.
- Orlando City has scored six goals while conceding just three over its past four games in all competitions since Robin Jansson returned to the starting XI. The Lions have conceded just twice in 258 minutes with Jansson on the pitch in 2026.
Series History
All-time vs. D.C. United - 9-9-4, +4 GD (3-5-3, -4 GD away)
MLS only vs. D.C. United - 9-9-3, +4 GD (3-5-2, -4 GD away)
2015 - L 0-1 (H), L 2-1 (A), W 1-0 (H)
2016 - L 4-1 (A), W 4-2 (H)
2017 - W 2-0 (H), W 1-2 (A)
2018 - D 1-1 (H), D 1-1 (2-4) (A/USOC), L 3-2 (A)
2019 - L 1-2 (H), L 1-0 (A)
2021 - W 0-1 (A), W 2-1 (H)
2022 - L 3-5 (H), L 2-1 (A)
2023 - D 1-1 (A), L 1-3 (H)
2024 - W 2-3 (A), W 5-0 (H)
2025 - W 4-1 (H), D 1-1 (A)
Meet the opponent: Charlotte FC
-Â Orlando City has owned D.C. United over the past two seasons, going 3-0-1 with a +9 goal differential against the Black-and-Red since the start of 2024. MartÃn Ojeda has scored twice in his past three matches against D.C. Orlando is also unbeaten at Audi Field over the past three years, most recently coming back to earn a point last September on an early second half goal from Alex Freeman.
- D.C. ended a 397-minute scoreless streak in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night, coming back from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to snag a point in a chaotic 4-4 draw against Atlantic Cup rivals Red Bull New York. New DP striker Tai Baribo, signed from Philadelphia this offseason, picked up his third career MLS hat trick in the game and is up to six goals in his first season in the nation’s capital.
- Other notables for D.C. include goalkeeper Sean Johnson, a former UCF Knight who has played in 440 MLS matches and remains one of the top shotstoppers in the league, and U.S. youth international midfielder Jackson Hopkins, who broke out of a season-long slump with a goal and an assist in New Jersey on Wednesday.
