Orlando City (2-2-1, 7 points) at LA Galaxy (0-3-2, 2 points)
When: Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, Calif.
Radio: AM 810 Fox Sports Radio, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Here are five storylines to watch on Saturday as the Lions head west to take on the LA Galaxy:
Firing on all Cylinders
Orlando City SC has been receiving consistently high levels of attacking production from its Designated Players and that continued in the Club’s 4-1 win over D.C. United last weekend. Luis Muriel, Martín Ojeda and Marco Pašalić combined for three goals and three assists in the victory, marking the first occasion in Club history that all three Designated Players scored in the same match. Ojeda was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday starting XI, while Muriel made the bench, and Pašalić won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his stunner in the 56th minute, becoming the first Lions player to win the award since Duncan McGuire on Decision Day 2023.
Looking Good for 200
Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja is set to manage his 200th game in charge of the Lions across all competitions. With a record of 86-58-55 since taking charge of the Club ahead of the 2020 MLS Season, Pareja is by far the winningest coach in the Club’s Major League Soccer era and has coached more than twice as many MLS games for the Lions than any of his predecessors. Pareja (176) currently has the fifth most MLS wins in league history and ranks third amongst active head coaches, trailing only Sporting Kansas City’s Peter Vermes (203) and San Jose Earthquake’s Bruce Arena (262).
Ojeda’s Opportunities
In addition to scoring the game-winning goal in the Lions’ 4-1 win over D.C. United last weekend, Designated Player and midfielder Martín Ojeda also provided two assists in the match, sending in the free kick that defender Alex Freeman scored on as well as making the final pass for Marco Pašalić’s Goal of the Matchday. With both assists, Ojeda brought his all-time tally for the Lions up to 26 helpers across all competitions, tying him for second in Club history with former Lions’ captain Nani. Ojeda’s next assist will give him sole control of second place all-time, trailing another former Orlando City captain, Mauricio Pereyra, for the top spot at 47 assists across all competitions.
Lions in LA
The last time Orlando City flew out to Los Angeles for a match against the Galaxy was three seasons ago in the 2022 campaign. That match at Dignity Health Sports Park ended in a 1-0 win for Orlando City and saw former Designated Player Facundo Torres score the first of his Club-record 47 all-time goals, with former DP Ercan Kara picking up the assist. The win marked the Lions lone win against the LA Galaxy out west. The Lions’ most recent win over the Galaxy came on April 29, 2023, with Torres finding the back of the net again after Kara opened the scoring for Orlando late in the first half. Orlando City has not allowed a goal to Los Angeles since Jona dos Santos scored against James O’Connor’s Lions in May 2019. The Lions are 2-0-0 in their only two meetings against the Galaxy under Head Coach Oscar Pareja.
Gone International
The Lions will see the return of three First Team players and one from Orlando City B after representing their respective national teams in the last FIFA window. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese started both FIFA World Cup qualifying games as Peru picked up a huge 3-1 win over Bolivia and fell 1-0 against Bolivia and defender David Brekalo made a late cameo in the final moments of extra time in the second leg to help Slovenia see out a huge 1-0 aggregate win over Slovakia in the UEFA Nations League playoffs over 210 grueling minutes. Midfielder Colin Guske and OCB forward Justin Ellis scored the goals as the United States U-18s drew Morocco 2-2 last Saturday. The U18s followed with a 4-3 win over Norway on Tuesday.
Milestone Tracker:
- Martín Ojeda (26) is one helper away from taking over second place all-time for most assists in Club history across all competitions, currently tied with former captain LA Galaxy.
- Duncan McGuire (26) sits fourth on Orlando City’s all-time scoring list and is five goals away from tying former captain Nanii (31) across all competitions for third.
