After a tough loss in the home opener, Orlando City bounced back in electrifying fashion against our neighbors from the North, Toronto FC—a team stacked with talent but struggling to find consistency in recent seasons.
This game had everything: drama, goals, and a debut to remember. The net rippled six times, each strike more thrilling than the last.
César Araújo set the tone early with an absolute stunner from a free kick, his shot ricocheting off the left post before zipping into the back of the net. Not long after, Alex Freeman—making his first career start for Orlando City—doubled the lead, sending Inter&Co Stadium into a frenzy. Orlando pushed the score to 3-0 before Toronto’s Sigurd Rosted pulled one back with a brilliant volley that rocketed past El Pulpo.
Then came the dagger. In the 80th minute, Orlando subbed on Dagur Dan. Just one minute later, he wasted no time making his mark, burying a goal to put the game out of reach.
With that, Orlando secured its first three points of the MLS season, erasing the memory of the Philadelphia opener and leveling their goal differential at zero.
Next up: a trip to the Big Apple. Orlando City takes on NYCFC this Saturday, March 8th. Stay tuned—this season is just getting started.
As always, I photographed with film first and then developed the photos old-school style before scanning them for your enjoyment.
