Orlando City vs Philadelphia Union
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla
Radio: AM 810 Fox Sports Radio, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Here are five storylines to watch on Saturday as the Lions start their 2025 campaign:
Opening it Up
Orlando City SC kicks off its 11th season in Major League Soccer this weekend against the Philadelphia Union in the Club’s Home Opener, presented by Orlando Health. The Lions have opened the season at home every single year of their MLS existence, and that will be no different in 2025 as they start their campaign once again in the friendly confines of Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday night. Of note, Orlando City has never lost a home opener in its MLS era, winning three matchups and drawing seven over their first 10 years in the league. Last season, Orlando City and CF Montréal played to a scoreless draw to kick the year off.
Chasing the Century Mark
Head Coach Oscar Pareja enters the 2025 campaign with 84 wins across all competitions during his time in charge of the Lions. The Colombian manager needs just 16 wins this season to reach 100 during his Orlando City career. In each of their last two seasons, the Lions have won at least 18 matches across all competitions and have posted 41 over the past two years combined. All-time as a head coach, Pareja has managed 175 wins in MLS play making him the fifth-winningest head coach in MLS history.
New Additions
The offseason between the 2024 and 2025 MLS seasons saw the Lions make some key changes to their roster, with some players moving out of the Club and bringing in some new faces to fill out the roster. Orlando City brought in a new Designated Player in Croatian international winger Marco Pašalić from HNK Rijeka. The Lions also brought in MLS veteran Eduard Atuesta from Palmeiras, whose previous MLS experience saw him with LAFC where he won the Supporters’ Shield in 2019, and Colombian winger Nico Rodríguez from Fortaleza C.E.I.F. as a U-22 Initiative player. Finally, out of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, the Lions signed French midfielder Joran Gerbet who they selected No. 27 overall out of Clemson University.
Uniting Against the Union
Orlando City picked up the Club’s first-ever sweep of Philadelphia last season, winning a 3-2 thriller in Chester in mid-May to kick off the year’s battle between the two sides, before easing to a 2-1 win at home at Inter&Co Stadium in early October. Orlando City is 3-0-1 against the Union over the past two seasons and 5-3-2 against the Union under the management of Head Coach Oscar Pareja. Designated Player Luis Muriel was key for the Lions against the Union across the two matches last year, having a hand in all five goals the Lions scored against the Union in 2024. He posted two goals and three assists in the two contests.
Approaching 10,000 Played
Uruguayan midfielder César Araújo is just 19 minutes away from eclipsing 10,000 minutes played for Orlando City since joining the Club in 2022. The midfield mainstay has made 121 appearances for the Club in all competitions, contributing five goals and nine assists along with his tenacious defense in central midfield. Araújo is set to become the fourth player on the current roster to reach 10,000 minutes with the Lions, joining defender Robin Jansson, goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and defender Rodrigo Schlegel.
Milestone Tracker:
- Duncan McGuire sits tied with Kaká (25) for fourth on Orlando City’s all-time scoring list and is one goal away from taking sole possession of fourth place.
- Midfielder César Araújo is 19 minutes away from passing 10,000 minutes played across all competitions.
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese is one win away from his 75th for the Lions.
