ORLANDO, Fla. (March 1, 2025) – Orlando City SC (1-1-0, 3 points) defeated Toronto FC (0-1-1, 1 point) at Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday evening via a 4-2 scoreline. City will look to follow up on tonight’s success as it heads out on the road for the first time this season to take on New York City FC, on Saturday, March 8, at Yankee Stadium.
City received offensive contributions throughout the lineup, highlighted by Homegrown defender Alex Freeman scoring his first career MLS goal off an assist by teammate Kyle Smith in the 35th minute of his first career start.
Having three other players score throughout the contest, Orlando’s balanced attack delivered in both halves, scoring two goals on both sides of the halftime break to claim its first victory of the 2025 campaign at Inter&Co Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
33’ César Araújo – ORL 1, TOR 0
The Lions’ first goal of the night came off the foot of midfielder César Araújo on a free kick. After forward Marco Pašalić drew a foul just outside the box, Araújo stepped up and curved the ball past the outstretched arms of the Toronto FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson, slamming the ball off the post and into the net.
35’ Alex Freeman (Kyle Smith) – ORL 2, TOR 0
Homegrown defender Alex Freeman scored City’s second goal of the match, the first of his MLS career, off a deep through ball from defender Kyle Smith. Smith launched the ball behind the Reds’ backline and found Freeman sprinting behind. The Homegrown beat his defender and calmly slid the ball past Johnson to double the Orlando advantage.
63’ Martín Ojeda (César Araújo) – ORL 3, TOR 0
Midfielder Martín Ojeda scored Orlando City’s third goal of the match, his first of this season, off an assist from César Araújo. Araújo carved the ball through the middle of Toronto’s defense and delivered the pass to Ojeda sprinting ahead of the backline. The midfielder drew out Toronto’s goalkeeper and delivered the ball past Johnson and into the net.
72’ Sigurd Rosted (Federico Bernardeschi) – ORL 3, TOR 1
Toronto was able to get one back on a corner late in the second half from a corner kick opportunity. Federico Bernardeschi crossed the ball in from the corner flag and found the head of Sigurd Rosted for the Reds’ first goal of the night.
81’ Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (Luis Muriel, Ramiro Enrique) – ORL 4, TOR 1
With eight minutes left in regular time, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson scored his first goal of the season on his first touch of the night to get Orlando City’s advantage back up to three. Just one minute after checking into the game, Thórhallsson slotted one into the back of the net after Muriel led him into the Toronto 18-yard-box with a precise through ball.
86’ Deybi Flores – ORL 4, TOR 2
Deybi Flores was able get one more before the final whistle, securing a loose ball outside the Orlando box before powering it past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“A great night for us. I thought after the [season] opener here, it was obviously not the best result. Today we had a complete performance. We played well, we scored goals and we had our first win in front of our fans, so it was very healthy for the group. Many of the things that happened during the game excite us and make us feel very optimistic. Of course, our priority as coaches is to see what areas we need to get better. We are not happy with the two goals, but we will work on it. Again, [we’re] happy to be in front of our fans again and have this win.”
Match Notes
- César Araújo scored his first goal of the season, converting a free kick opportunity from outside the box. Araújo earned an assist on the Ojeda finish, serving as his first of the 2025 season and 10th all-time.
- Homegrown defender Alex Freeman made his first start for the Orlando City First Team.
- Adding to his first start at the MLS level, Freeman scored his first goal for the Lions.
- Martín Ojeda scored his first goal of the season with his second-half finish, his 14th all-time across all competitions for Orlando City.
- With the start on the night, forward Iván Angulo made his 90th start and 100th all-time appearance for the Lions across all competitions.
- Orlando City B midfielder Gustavo Caraballo made his first ever regular-season appearance for the Lions Saturday night and became the youngest player to appear in a game for Orlando City in team history at 16 years and 184 days old.
- Defender Kyle Smith provided his first assist of the 2025 campaign on the Freeman, with the helper serving as his 10th all-time for the Lions across all competitions.
- Defender/midfielder Dagur Dan Thórhallsson scored his fifth goal all-time for Orlando City and his first of the 2025 campaign.
- Forward Luis Muriel provided his ninth assist all-time for the Lions on the Thórhallsson strike.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to the Starting XI after his side’s last match against the Philadelphia Union, with Alex Freeman and Kyle Smith joining the lineup.
