D.C. United hits the road for the second time this season as they travel south to face Orlando City SC. After a hard-fought 0-0 draw at home against CF Montréal, the Black-and-Red will be looking to secure their first road win of 2025 and continue their unbeaten streak.
Head coach Troy Lesesne praised his squad ahead of tonight’s clash. “We’re built in a different way this year—more sustainable for the long haul,” said Lesesne, who is confident in the next-man-up mentality as D.C. navigates international absences. Defender Kye Rowles (Australia) and midfielder Matti Peltola (Finland) will both be unavailable due to national team duty. Aaron Herrera remains with the squad and is expected to contribute on the backline.
All eyes will be on Christian Benteke, who remains a central to D.C.’s attack. The 2024 MLS Golden Boot winner leads the league in shots and individual xG. While his goal last week against Montréal was disallowed, he continues to keep opposition defenses on edge. Support will come from midfielders Gabriel Pirani, João Peglow, and Jared Stroud, who helped create multiple scoring chances in the last match.
The Lions enter Saturday with a 1-2-2 (W-L-D) record and will look to capitalize at home after a 2-2 draw with New York Red Bulls. Their attack has been one of the league’s most productive, led by Designated Players Marco Pašalić, Martín Ojeda, and Luis Muriel—who have combined for 10 goal contributions in four games. Pašalić is tied for third in the league in goals.
The Black-and-Red’s goalkeeper, Joon-Hong Kim, recorded his first MLS clean sheet last week and continues to grow in confidence. Lesesne praised his maturity and work ethic, noting that his presence has inspired trust in the backline. “His quality is clear. He gives our group a ton of confidence,” said Lesesne.
Orlando City dominated both matchups last season, including a painful 5-0 rout in July. D.C. United will be looking for redemption in 2025 and that starts tonight.
Hear everything head coach Troy Lesesne had to say in the pre-game press conference here.
Let us know your thoughts about tonight’s match in the comments below and be sure to join us live here during the game to chat with your fellow supporters.
Key Player: Christian Benteke
D.C. continues to build a sustainable model around Benteke and his
Watch Out For: Marco Pašalić, Martín Ojeda, and Luis Muriel
Pašalić, Ojeda, and Muriel are racking up the goals for the Lions and will put D.C.’s backline to the test.
Challenges: The Black-and-Red must maintain their momentum, even on the road to take advantage of early-season opportunities for points.
Previously: While Orlando dominated the series in 2024, winning 3-2 and 5-0, the Black-and-Red are ready to rewrite the story.
Orlando City SC Availability:
Out: David Brekalo (international duty), Pedro Gallese (international duty), Colin Guske (international duty), Favian Loyola (thigh), Nico Rodríguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (SEI), Yutaro Tsukada (SEI)
Questionable: None
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Conner Antey (knee), Jackson Hopkins (ankle), Hakim Karamoko (abdomen), Randall Leal (thigh), Matti Peltola (international duty), Kye Rowles (international duty)
Questionable: None
Location: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, FL
Kickoff time: 7:30 pm ET
Referee: Tori Penso
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Old Glory up 20-7 at half over 2 time defending MLR champ New England Free Jacks who’ve knocked OGDC out of the playoffs for 2 years running.
Old Glory wins 28-14 including a drop goal from player of the match Jason Robertson.
For DCU fans in central Maryland, it is possible to see tonight’s match (and just about any soccer game out there that can be found) at Tampico Grill in Laurel.
I’m still unclear on what the boundaries are for central Maryland.
I would say that Laurel and surrounding areas could be considered central Maryland.
Amazing that letting Orlando have chance after chance finally resulted in Orlando taking the lead.
We seem to be under siege.
For being such a high energy team, DC slows things down in the attacking third way too often. This team isn’t built to breakdown a low block.
Well that’s game. I don’t see us coming back the way we’ve been playing.
Boris Enow again with a give away….
Yet Russell Canouse is on speed dial……(?)
If you’re a DC United fan, this is just unbearable to watch. They’re “only” down 2-0, but I’ve rarely seen them being so thoroughly dominated by the opponent..
I think this just shows that we were doing well against the bottom of the conference and now that we’ve run into someone from the top of the conference we’re not up to standard.
That’s definitely game.
It’s 4-0….yup all hope is gone….
We’ve been exposed badly this match.
I feel like Kim (Joon?) has done decently though, given what he’s had to deal with
Kim has done decently its the defense has been all sorts of bad in front of him. Enow just needs to be on the bench.
Pirani forces a save.
Oh look a consolation goal from McNaughton.
Dotson gets mugged and no foul.
Dotson forces a save.
The coach rightly takes responsibility after this dumpster fire. I have three points on the game.
Lesesne is very inflexible in his coaching style and had not reckoned with the tendency of Orlando to break pressure and counterattack. Even the announcers (usually not the sharpest pins in the cushion) mentioned this point early in the broadcast.
Second, he needs to realize that Enow is turnover waiting to happen and is constantly out of position. Again, his inflexibility has led to having the same lineup even though they have proven to not be effective against poor teams.
Third, he is undermanned (probably not his fault) and even Goff in his column today mentioned need for second DP. Also, the decision to trade Klich cleared the decks for younger (and as yet ineffective) players. Given that DCU is paying his salary he could have been useful as a substitute this year.