Orlando City SC Falls, 3-2, on the Road to D.C. United
MLS Orlando City SC

Orlando City SC Falls, 3-2, on the Road to D.C. United

Published on April 25, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Orlando City SC News Release


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Orlando City SC (2-7-1, 7 points) fell 3-2 to D.C. United (3-4-3, 12 points) in its visit to Audi Field on Saturday night.

18-year-old Justin Ellis scored his first career goal in just his second MLS start, while Tyrese Spicer netted from distance as the Lions overcame an early deficit to make the score 2-1 in the 67th minute. The home side responded, however, with two goals in the final seven minutes of play to deny Orlando City any points from its trip to the nation's capital.

The Lions will continue their four-game road stint on Wednesday night as they face the New England Revolution at Centreville Bank Stadium in the Round of 16 of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (7:30 p.m. ET | Paramount+), before heading south to take on intrastate rivals Inter Miami CF on Saturday, May 2 (7 p.m. ET | Apple TV).

Goal Highlights:

10' Jackson Hopkins (Keisuke Kurokawa) - DC 1, ORL 0

57' Justin Ellis - ORL 1, DC 1

67' Tyrese Spicer (Adrián Marín, Robin Jansson) - ORL 2, DC 1

84' Louis Munteanu (Nikola Markovic, Jared Stroud) - ORL2, DC 2

90' Kye Rowles (Nikola Markovic) - DC 3, ORL 2

Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:

"Of course, disappointed with the result after the effort to come back in the game. We concede a goal in the first half, but then we dominate the first half completely. Second half, we were able to continue dominating, find the goals, we could've scored maybe another one, and then at the end, the big effort we did, unfortunately, we end up with nothing. This is the game, but there were some good things. [Tyrese] Spicer came back, Justin [Ellis] scored his first goal, things for us to continue to growing and thinking now of the Open Cup."

Match Notes:

Forward Tyrese Spicer scored his first goal in 2026 MLS action and his second of the year across all competitions. The strike marked his fourth all-time across all competitions with the Lions.

Adrián Marín provided his first assist of the year, making the pass on Spicer's tally. The assist was the defender's second all-time for the Lions across all competitions.

18-year-old homegrown forward Justin Ellis scored his first goal for Orlando City, finishing off a rebound in the 57th minute.

Wilder Cartagena made his return to action on the night, entering the match as a second-half substitute. Cartagena had missed action since picking up a thigh injury in the Lions' 2026 opener against Red Bull New York.

Interim head coach Martín Perelman made no changes to the lineup from the Lions' previous match against Charlotte FC, marking the first time this season the Lions have played consecutive games with the same starting XI.

Defender David Brekalo (lower leg), midfielders Eduard Atuesta (shoulder) and Joran Gerbet (knee) and forwards Duncan McGuire (lower leg) and Marco Pašalić (thigh) all missed the match due to injury. Next Match: The Lions will take on the New England Revolution in the Round of 16 of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, April 29. That match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Centreville Bank Stadium, airing live on Paramount+.

Teams 1 2 F

D.C. United 1 2 3

Orlando City SC 0 2 2

Scoring Summary:

DC - Jackson Hopkins (Keisuke Kurokawa) 10'

ORL - Justin Ellis 57'

ORL - Tyrese Spicer (Adrián Marín, Robin Jansson) 67'

DC - Louis Munteanu (Nikola Markovic, Jared Stroud) 84'

DC - Kye Rowles (Nikola Markovic) 90'

Misconduct Summary:

ORL - Iago (Yellow Card) 4'

DC - Lucas Bartlett (Yellow Card) 21'

ORL - Luís Otávio (Yellow Card) 74'

DC - Louis Munteanu (Yellow Card) 75'

DC - Jared Stroud (Yellow Card) 90+2'

DC - Keisuke Kurokawa (Yellow Card) 90+4'

ORL - Wilder Cartagena (Yellow Card) 90+8'

Lineups/Substitutions:

Orlando City SC âˆ' GK Maxime Crépeau; D Zakaria Taifi (Griffin Dorsey 46'), Iago, Robin Jansson (c), Adrián Marín; M Iván Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Luís Otávio (Wilder Cartagena 88'), Tiago (Tyrese Spicer 61'); F Martín Ojeda, Justin Ellis (Tahir Reid-Brown 82')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Javier Otero; D Nolan Miller, Bernardo Rhein; M Colin Guske; F Harvey Sarajian

D.C. United - GK Sean Johnson; D Silvan Hefti (Nikola Markovic 77'), Lucas Bartlett (c), Kye Rowles, Keisuke Kurokawa; M Aaron Herrera (Jared Stroud 46'), Matti Peltola, Brandon Servania, Joao Martins Peglow (Conner Antley 90+5'); F Jackson Hopkins (Jacob Murrell 77'), Louis Munteanu

Substitutes Not Used: GK Alex Bono, Jordan Farr; M Caden Clark, Hosei Kijima; F Gavin Turner

Details of the Game:

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Weather: Rain

Date: April 25, 2026

Attendance: 14,040

Stats:

Possession:

DC - 41.9%

ORL - 58.1%

Shots:

DC - 15

ORL - 10

Shots on Goal:

DC - 8

ORL - 7

Saves:

DC - 5

ORL - 5

Fouls:

DC - 12

ORL - 14

Offsides:

DC - 1

ORL - 2

Corners:

DC - 7

ORL - 8

Heineken Star of the Match: Tyrese Spicer

Check out the Orlando City SC Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 25, 2026


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