KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 9, 2025) – Orlando City B (1-0-0, 3 points) and Columbus Crew 2 (0-1-0, 0 points) faced off at Osceola Heritage Park on Sunday night in the season opener to each side’s 2025 campaigns. The Lions took the match via a 2-1 scoreline to improve to 4-0-0 in MLS NEXT Pro season openers since the league’s inaugural season in 2022, as Zakaria Taifi and Dyson Clapier score their first goals for OCB.
After the Lions took the early lead just 10 minutes into the 2025 campaign, the match was fairly evenly contested with OCB taking just three more shots than Crew 2 on the night. Goalkeeper Carlos Mercado made four saves on the night including on a Columbus breakaway at the end of the first half to maintain the Orlando advantage.
Following OCB defender Zakaria Taifi doubling the Lions advantage shortly into the second half, the Lions defense withstood the pressure from Crew 2 at the end of the game, despite a late goal from Keesean Ferdinand, to secure all three points for Orlando City B and to keep its MLS NEXT Pro opening day record perfect.
The Lions remain home in Kissimmee next weekend as they get set to host rivals Atlanta United 2 on Sunday, March 16 on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Kickoff from Osceola County Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
10’ Dyson Clapier – ORL 1, CLB 0
Orlando City B opened its yearly account just 10 minutes into the 2025 campaign. Forward Justin Ellis and the rest of the attack were applying pressure on a Columbus throw-in deep in the Crew 2 half and forced a bad back-pass. Ellis pressured the receiving defender and clipped it off and over him, where forward Dyson Clapier was waiting. The Layton, Utah native ran onto the ball and hit it first time, roofing the shot for the Lions’ first goal of 2025.
48’ Zakaria Taifi – ORL 2, CLB 0
The Lions were able to double their advantage just a few minutes into second-half action as midfielder Jhon Solís broke down the right side of the Crew 2 defense. Solís slowed things down before switching the play to Zakaria Taifi on OCB’s right wing. Taifi took a touch over his defender and then launched the ball into the net to put the Lions up two.
88’ Keesean Ferdinand (Anthony Alaouieh) – ORL 2, CLB 1
The visitors were able to grab a goal back late into the second half as Anthony Alaouieh attacked the Orlando defense down his left side of the field. He slid the ball back to the right across the middle of the Orlando box to Keesean Ferdinand who buried a curler to Mercado’s right side.
Match Notes:
- Winning their season opener 2-1, the Lions continued their run in MLS NEXT Pro winning all four of the openers since the league’s inaugural season in 2022.
- Defender Zakaria Taifi scored his first goal all-time for Orlando City B across all competitions.
- Forward Dyson Clapier scored his first career Orlando City B goal early on in his debut with the young Lions on Sunday night.
- Earning the start in the match for Head Coach Manuel Goldberg, two players made their Orlando City B debuts with both midfielder Dylan Judelson and forward Dyson Clapier making their first appearances for the Lions.
- With the start, Judelson also made his first-ever appearance in MLS NEXT Pro.
- Orlando City Academy defender Clovis Archange also made his Orlando City B debut, entering the match as a second-half substitute.
