Martin Ojeda's 90th-Minute Header Delivers Orlando City a Soaking-Wet Thriller Over Union

Rain hammered Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday night in Orlando, and when the downpour cleared, Martin Ojeda had just authored one of those moments you don't forget. His second goal of the match, a header in the 90th minute, sent Orlando City past the Philadelphia Union 4-3 in a wild, back-and-forth battle that had both teams trading blows like they had something to prove.

Ojeda's game-winner came off a service from Adrian Marin into the center of the box. The Union goalie Andrew Rick, making his first start of the season, had no answer for the header. It was Ojeda's ninth goal of the campaign, and it came at the exact moment when Philadelphia thought they had clawed back into the match. Eleven minutes earlier, the Union had tied things up. This time, there was no coming back.

A Comeback That Just Wasn't Enough

Philadelphia entered halftime already down 2-0, but they refused to go quietly. Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old phenom, scored his first MLS goal to get the Union on the board in the 54th minute. Sullivan orchestrated play on the break, passing to Nathan Harriel, who cut it inside for Milan Iloski to finish in the center of the box. Iloski's goal was his team-leading third of the year.

The Union kept pushing. Ben Bender, playing left back for the first time in his career, found the back of the net to pull Philadelphia within one. Sullivan and Bender connected on a spectacular sequence where Sullivan sent a high cross over the box and Bender finished with a low shot to the far post that Maxime Crepeau couldn't reach. But by then, Orlando's Duncan McGuire had already scored in the 72nd minute when he finished unmarked on a 3-on-1 break set up by Tyrese Spicer.

Ojeda Opens the Floodgates Early

Ojeda got Orlando rolling in the 19th minute from the penalty spot after drawing a yellow card on Philadelphia keeper Rick, who tripped him on what would have been a breakaway. Ojeda's initial hesitation got Rick to splay right, giving him an easy conversion.

Four minutes later, Griffin Dorsey made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season, finishing off an open strike after Tiago recovered the ball twice in the Union's end and shuttled it ahead.

Orlando City improved to 4-8-1 with 13 points, grabbing their third win in their last five matches. The Union dropped to 1-9-3 with just 6 points, still buried deep in the Eastern Conference cellar. Maxime Crepeau made four saves for the Lions, while Rick made two stops despite his tough night.

Next up for Orlando: a chance to keep the momentum rolling. For Philadelphia: back to the drawing board in one of the toughest starts imaginable.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.