Orlando City (13-11-7, 46 points) vs Philadelphia Union (9-12-10, 37 points)
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: 96.9 The Game, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' Wednesday night match vs the Philadelphia Union in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Facundo Torres’ goal against FC Dallas tied him with Cyle Larin for the most in Orlando City history with 44 goals in all competitions. Torres’ next goal will give him sole possession of the all-time mark. Torres is also a goal shy of Larin’s single-season club record of 18, set in 2015.
- At 25 assists, Torres is one away from tying Nani for second on the all-time charts.
- Orlando City is two goals away from matching the club’s all-time MLS single-season record of 55 goals, set in 2016 and matched in 2023.
- Martín Ojeda is up to 23 assists in all competitions for the club, including 13 this season, tied with Nicolás Lodeiro for the club’s single-season record. Ojeda’s next assist will see him tie Chris Mueller for fourth in club history.
- Duncan McGuire’s next goal for Orlando, his 26th, will put him past Kaká into sole possession of fourth in club history.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City clinched a playoff berth for a fifth consecutive season with Saturday’s 3-1 win at FC Dallas, taking control of its destiny for a top 4 finish and home field advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs in the process. The Lions scored as many goals on Saturday as they had in their previous seven matches against FC Dallas combined.
- Heading into Wednesday night, Orlando is two points above both New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls for fourth place. Charlotte FC remains on the fringes of the hunt, sitting four points back with three to play. Thanks to this weekend’s results, Orlando can finish no lower than seventh, guaranteeing it won’t have to play in the Wild Card Round.
- With the win, the Lions clinched at least a .500 season on the road for the second straight year. Orlando City has 16 away wins in league play since the start of the 2023 season, the second-most of any club in MLS (FC Cincinnati, 17).
- Orlando City is 9-2-1 with a +20 goal differential in its past 12 games against MLS opposition, including 5-0-1 with a +16 GD at home. The Lions are on a nine-game unbeaten streak at Inter&Co Stadium in all competitions, last losing at home on June 15.
- Orlando has scored 36 goals in its past 14 MLS matches, including 14 in its past five. The Lions have scored multiple goals in five straight and 12 of their last 14.
- Facundo Torres has 5 G/1 A in his past five matches with either a goal or an assist in each game, the second time in his career he has notched a goal contribution in five consecutive appearances. Torres is up to 17 G/9 A for the year in all competitions and has 12 G/7 A in his last 17 matches overall.
- Martín Ojeda has recorded at least one assist in four of his past five matches and is up to 5 G/13 A in all competitions this year. Ojeda has nine assists in 12 MLS regular season starts since entering the starting XI for good on June 28.
- Ramiro Enrique, who had a six-game goal scoring streak earlier this summer, has scored in two straight after his goal against Dallas on Saturday. Enrique, who also had an assist on Torres’ record-tying goal, was named Heineken Star of the Match for his performance.
Series History
All-time vs. Philadelphia - 7-8-6, -8 GD (3-2-5, 0 GD home)
MLS only vs. Philadelphia - 6-7-6, -8 GD (2-2-4, -1 GD home)
2015 - D 0-0 (H), L 1-0 (A)
2016 - L 2-1 (A), D 2-2 (H), W 0-2 (A)
2017 - W 2-1 (H), L 6-1 (A)
2018 - W 0-2 (A), L 1-0 (A/USOC), D 2-2 (H)
2019 - L 1-3 (H), D 2-2 (A)
2020 - D 1-1 (N)
2021 - W 2-1 (H), L 3-1 (A)
2022 - W 2-1 (H/USOC), L 0-1 (H), L 5-1 (A)
2023 - W 1-2 (A), D 2-2 (H)
2024 - W 2-3 (A)
Meet the opponent: Philadelphia Union
- Orlando City will seek their first-ever season sweep of the Philadelphia Union this Wednesday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions defeated the Union 3-2 in a wild one at Subaru Park in Pennsylvania back in May, with Luis Muriel scoring his first two Orlando City goals and Pedro Gallese becoming the first goalkeeper to save a Dániel Gazdag penalty in regulation.
- Like Orlando, Philly had a rough start to the year, sitting at 4-10-9 in mid-July with just one win in the prior three months. Also like the Lions, the Union have roared to life since, going 5-2-2 over their past nine MLS matches to climb back into contention for one of the final Eastern Conference playoff spots. Philly also enjoyed a stellar Leagues Cup run, going all the way to the semifinals before falling to eventual champions Columbus.
- Philly has been spurred by the torrid form of striker Tai Baribo, who entered the lineup on June 19 and promptly scored 16 goals across 19 starts, including seven goals in Leagues Cup to win the tournament’s Golden Boot. Baribo had played a grand total of 27 minutes in a Union shirt before embarking on this recent run.
- Famously good at home, Philadelphia has actually been better away this year, going 5-5-5 in MLS play on the road and winning in Cincinnati during Leagues Cup. Orlando City has only three wins in ten matches in the City Beautiful against the Union.
- Martín Ojeda has two goals and two assists in three career appearances against Philadelphia. Nico Lodeiro assisted all three goals in the May match for his first career goal contributions against Philly, while Muriel had a statement game, assisting Duncan McGuire’s opener before scoring the second and third.
