ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2025) – Orlando City SC (0-1-0, 0 points) fell to the Philadelphia Union (1-0-0, 3 points) in the home opener, presented by Orlando Health, at Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday night via a 4-2 scoreline. The Lions will look to get in the win column in their second match of the season against Toronto FC, on Saturday, March 1, at Inter&Co Stadium.
City’s two goals came from newly acquired Designated Player Marco Pašalić, who made his MLS debut on Saturday night. Pašalić became the first player in Orlando City history to record a brace in his debut. The second goal of Pašalić’s brace was assisted by fellow new Lions midfielder Eduard Atuesta, who also started off the 2025 campaign by providing the secondary assist.
Despite having both more shots and shots on goal than Philadelphia, the Union converted on all four of their shots on goal. Orlando struck first just eight minutes into the game, but Philadelphia responded with four unanswered goals before the Lions were able to get one back in the 79th minute.
Scoring Summary:
8’ Marco Pašalić (Martín Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta) – ORL 1, PHI 0
The Lions opened the scoring in their 2025 campaign with a goal from Marco Pašalić, who made his debut for Orlando City in the match. New Lions midfielder Eduard Atuesta fed the ball forward to Martín Ojeda, who then gave a through pass to Pašalić to put him in on goal before the Croatian slotted the ball near post.
23’ Tai Baribo (Kai Wagner) – ORL 1, PHI 1
The Union responded with their first goal of the season on a close-range shot from Tai Baribo, who was positioned right in front of Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Wagner assisted the goal with a hard-driven pass from the left side of the box after Philadelphia won back possession.
47’ Dániel Gazdag (Quinn Sullivan) – PHI 2, ORL 1
Dániel Gazdag put the Union ahead just two minutes into the second half on a volley off an assist from Quinn Sullivan. Sullivan whipped the ball in from outside the box where Gazdag was able to put into the back of the net with his first touch.
51’ Mikkel Uhre – PHI 3, ORL 1
Philadelphia’s third goal of the night came from Mikkel Uhre. The Union forward scored after gaining the ball from a Lions defender in good position right outside the box and then slotting it in the back of the net.
64’ Tai Baribo (Francis Westfield) – PHI 4, ORL 1
Tai Baribo scored his second of the match with an assist from Francis Westfield. Philadelphia's' fourth goal came as Baribo tapped the ball into the back of the net off a precise pass from the left side of the box by Union defender Francis Westfield.
79’ Marco Pašalić – PHI 4, ORL 2
Marco Pašalić tallied his second goal late into the second half to cut the deficit down to two. Pašalić secured the brace after scoring off his own rebound that hit the post. Luis Muriel had the initial shot on goal that hit the post before Pašalić converted on the third rebound of the attacking sequence.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“I think Philadelphia was sharper than us, especially in the two boxes. When they had their chances, they were lethal. We made mistakes that we could avoid on this level. We take it as a part of the game and also as our responsibility. When we had the options, we let it go and they didn't, and we let that opportunity go. For an instance we showed glimpses of things that we want and that made us feel optimistic. Players came and showed us good things, which is also a good sensation. But other than that, we still have habits that we need to correct. Just in this competition, it showed us today that we still have one or two more gears to go. We have to have it, but in the two boxes, they were better.”
Match Notes
- Forward and Designated Player Marco Pašalić scored his first goal for the Lions just eight minutes into his Orlando City career.
- Pašalić's eighth-minute goal was the fastest goal in an MLS debut in Orlando City history. Only one other Orlando City player previously scored in the first half of their MLS debut and that was forward Daryl Dike in the 17th minute on Aug. 22, 2020, against Inter Miami CF.
- Eduard Atuesta started his campaign for the Lions giving the secondary assist for Marco Pašalić on the first goal of the season.
- Midfielder Martín Ojeda got his tally started for the campaign, assisting on the Pašalić opener.
- Forward Marco Pašalić and midfielder Eduard Atuesta made their Orlando City debuts in the match, joining the Lions via transfers in the offseason.
- Coming on in the 71st minute, midfielder Joran Gerbet made his profesional debut.
- The match served as the start to the Lions’ 11th campaign in Major League Soccer, with all 11 season openers taking place in downtown Orlando.
- On his debut for Orlando City, Marco Pašalić scored two goals with four shots on target, becoming the first player in Club history to record a brace in his debut match.
