Mauricio Pereyra has become known to Orlando City fans as “El Maestro” for his incisive and creative playmaking, establishing himself as one of MLS’ best No. 10s.
On Sunday night, Pereyra got to remind everyone that he can score, too.
Pereyra’s cool and collected finish was enough for Orlando City to emerge with a 1-0 victory at D.C. United, running their unbeaten run to five, a Club-best to start a season, and enough for him to be named Heineken Man of the Match on the night.
It was an especially meaningful goal for Pereyra, who used his celebration to pay tribute to his late close friend Santiago “Morro” García, a former academy teammate at Nacional in Uruguay who passed away in February.
“We grew up together, we played [together] since we were 10 or 11 years old,” Pereyra reflected after the match. “I was really excited waiting for this moment, and I’m a little bit lighter now because it was a heavy moment for me.”
The Uruguayan did plenty of work after the goal to help his team gut out the three points on the road. Pereyra provided a team-high two key passes, drew three fouls and recovered the ball four times in the victory.
