Facundo Torres became Orlando City all-time leading scorer in win over Philly

Orlando, FL – It was a record-setting night for Orlando City as Facundo Torres became Orlando City SC’s all-time leading goal scorer (45) in the Lion’s 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union. Not gonna lie, it was a whole vibe watching this young player from Uruguay fulfill his destiny of becoming the face of a franchise.

The Hottest Team in MLS

This season, we’ve seen Orlando City celebrate its 10th anniversary, and who did you see as the face of that 10-year history? None other than Kaka! However, Facu has been putting in work in his three years with the club, breaking records and carrying the squad to heights never achieved in their history. Last night’s 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union further proves why Facundo Torres is the man Orlando City brought in, not only to become their all-time scorer, but to lead the franchise to the promised land.

Orlando, in their last 10 matches are the MLS league leaders in points (22 pts – tied with Seattle) earned. They’re also the league leaders during that same span in goal differential (+12 – tied with Philadelphia). In their last six games, they lead both those categories outright. All that is to say that Orlando is the hottest team in the MLS going into the playoffs. This is exactly the time where you want to be peaking and the Lions are doing just that.

The NEW Face of the Franchise

A huge reason for their recent good form has undoubtedly been the play of Facu Torres. In Orlando’s last six matches, six of their 16 goals have come from Torres. He scored in five of those matches. In the only match he didn’t score, Orlando lost to the defending MLS and Leagues Cup champions, Columbus Crew 4-3.

After the match, I asked him about how he’s increased Orlando’s recent success and what they need to do to ultimately defeat the top teams and lift the MLS Cup trophy. He said that they need to continue putting themselves in a position to succeed to ultimately lift the MLS Cup trophy.

After scoring his record-breaking goal in #OrlandoCity’s defeat of the Union, I asked Facu Torres what it’ll take to get past the leaders of the league in the playoffs. He said that they need to create an advantage in order to beat those teams and lift the #MLSCupPlayoffs trophy. pic.twitter.com/6v8SQJLjiG

— Gustavo Chacon (@onaPSIh) October 3, 2024

Time Well Adjusting Spent

Aside from Facu lighting it up, we’ve also seen Luis Muriel become a consistent contributor. He assisted both goals against Philly and has scored or assisted in three other goals in the last six games as well. At the beginning of their early season struggles, I said they’d need him and Nico Lodeiro to become acclimated with the rest of the guys for Orlando to play well. I asked Coach Pareja what the expectations are now that everyone on the team is familiar with each other. His answer alluded to them having to keep the focus on whatever is in front of them at the moment.

I asked coach Pareja what the expectations should be now that all players are familiar with each other and the team is hitting on all cylinders.
“We have to earn it every single game” was his answer as he said they need to stay focused on the task at hand. #OrlandoCity pic.twitter.com/aO6YC6Hya2

— Gustavo Chacon (@onaPSIh) October 3, 2024

No good or bad expectations, just work to continue improving. It’s no wonder he’s been able to consistently push this team further and further each season.

Next up, Orlando travels to Cincinnati, who clinched at least the #3 spot in the East. However, they’ve only won two out of their last 10 matches, drawing in another two matches. Orlando has an opportunity to continue riding their hot momentum by taking advantage of an out-of-form Cincinnati who’ll be a potential opponent in the playoffs.