Martin Ojeda Scored Twice in the Rain and Orlando City Stole a Wet, Wild One From Philly

Martin Ojeda just delivered the kind of finish that makes you jump off the couch. In the 90th minute, with rain coming down at Inter&Co Stadium, Ojeda laid out for a header off Adrian Marin's service to the center of the box and buried it past Philadelphia Union goalie Andrew Rick. That wasn't just any goal, either. It was his second of the night and his ninth of the campaign, and it gave Orlando City a dramatic 4-3 win over the visiting Union on Wednesday night.

This wasn't some blowout. Philadelphia had clawed their way back into it, erasing a 3-1 deficit just eleven minutes before Ojeda's winner. Cavan Sullivan, a 16-year-old phenom, scored his first MLS goal and Ben Bender struck four minutes later to spark the Union's comeback. But in the end, it wasn't enough. Orlando City (4-8-1, 13 points) notched their third win in five matches and left Philadelphia (1-9-3, 6 points) still deep in the Eastern Conference basement.

The Goals That Got Us Here

Ojeda opened the scoring in the 19th minute from the penalty spot. After he stumbled on a would-be breakaway, he got another chance straight through the Philadelphia defense and Rick drew a yellow card diving into him. Ojeda's kick had an initial hesitation that got Rick to splay to the right, and he buried it.

Then in the 27th minute, Tiago recovered the ball twice after Union takeaways in their own end and shuttled it to Griffin Dorsey for an open strike. That was Dorsey's first goal of the season and it put Orlando up 2-0 at halftime.

Philadelphia's comeback started in the 54th minute when Milan Iloski got them on the board with his team-leading third goal of the year. Sullivan set it up on the break, passing to Nathan Harriel on the right. Harriel cut it inside for Iloski in the center of the box. It was the start of a furious Union push.

Subs Shine, Drama Follows

Duncan McGuire and Tyrese Spicer were two of Orlando's five substitutes and they teamed up on the Lions' third goal. Spicer beat a weak challenge near midfield and went on a 3-on-1 break. McGuire was unmarked the entire way and finished in the 72nd with a right-footed strike.

Sullivan trimmed it to 3-2 just three minutes later with a stellar finish. He sent a high cross over the box to Bender, who passed it right back to him to set up the goal. Then Bender, playing left back for the first time in his career according to the broadcast, was unmarked trailing a Union foray in the attacking zone and his low shot to the far post went out of goalie Maxime Crepeau's reach to tie it at 3-3.

Crepeau made four saves overall for Orlando. Rick, making his first start of the season for an injured Andre Blake, had no answer when Ojeda rose highest in that 90th minute rain.

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