Philadelphia Union Defeat Orlando City 4-2 as Second-Half Surge Decides Match
By Alonso Contreras
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia Union defeated Orlando City 4-2 after scoring twice early in the second half and building a four-goal advantage before the Lions mounted a late comeback attempt.
Orlando City struggled to contain Philadelphia's attack throughout the opening half, and the Union took control from the penalty spot in the 11th minute.
Philadelphia Takes Control Early
Milan Iloski opened the scoring in the 11th minute, converting a penalty to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.
The Union doubled their advantage in the 19th minute when Iloski found the net again, scoring from the left side of the box after an assist from Indiana Vassilev, with Nathan Harriel providing the second assist.
Orlando went into halftime trailing 2-0.
Philadelphia Strikes Twice After the Break
The second half quickly became even more difficult for Orlando.
Just two minutes after the restart, Indiana Vassilev scored in the 47th minute to make it 3-0. Jesús Bueno provided the assist.
Philadelphia then added a fourth goal in the 51st minute. Milan Iloski completed his hat trick, scoring from outside the box after receiving a pass from Vassilev, with Jovan Lukic credited with the second assist.
With Philadelphia leading 4-0, Orlando made several substitutions in the 54th minute, bringing on Luis Otávio, Vinícius Nogueira and Harvey Sarajian, among others.
Orlando Finds a Late Response
The Lions continued pushing forward and eventually found a breakthrough in the 78th minute.
Iván Angulo scored from inside the box after receiving an assist from Antoine Griezmann, cutting Philadelphia's lead to 4-1.
Orlando continued creating opportunities, while goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was also called into action several times to keep Philadelphia from adding to its lead. Crépeau made saves on attempts from Ezekiel Alladoh in the closing stages.
Then, in the 90th minute, Orlando scored again.
Martín Ojeda finished from the center of the box after a pass from Harvey Sarajian, with Iván Angulo providing the second assist. The goal made it 4-2.
Despite the late pressure, Orlando could not complete the comeback.
Philadelphia held on through seven minutes of stoppage time to secure the 4-2 victory.
Match Summary
Philadelphia Union 4-2 Orlando City
Philadelphia goals:
11' Milan Iloski — penalty
19' Milan Iloski
47' Indiana Vassilev
51' Milan Iloski
Orlando City goals:
78' Iván Angulo
90' Martín Ojeda
Iloski's three-goal performance proved decisive for Philadelphia, while Orlando showed resilience late in the match through goals from Angulo and Ojeda.
