Orlando City Dominates Toronto FC, Alex Freeman Shines

Orlando, FL – What a difference a week can make. After a rare opening-day drubbing at the hands of the Philadelphia Union just a week ago, Orlando City defeated Toronto FC 4–2 at home and dominates for nearly the entire game with a great first-ever-start by Alex Freeman.

The Lions overwhelmed an opponent that is admittedly still trying to find their way and some momentum; Toronto hasn’t won a game since September 2024. 

A downward-trending opponent and a dominant, but not perfect, performance are good reasons not to get complacent. Instead of beating up Toronto, let’s instead focus on all that was great about last night’s performance

Renewed Trust In Papi’s Plan

Manager Óscar Pareja deserves all the credit for his confidence in his player selections on the evening as his vision for Orlando City’s style of play begins to come into focus. Orlando played aggressive, flowing, attractive soccer throughout the game. Again, late changes to the backline forced Papi to turn to City veteran Kyle Smith at Center Back and Orlando City B standout Alex Freeman at Right Wingback. The rest of the lineup remained unchanged from the previous game.

Starting lineups are out for tonight’s match, #OrlandoCity fans! Coach Pareja moves Atuesta to the other side, and Freeman, who coach was impressed with last week, gets the start.#VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/4e6i2uJcsZ

— Gustavo Chacon (@onaPSIh) March 1, 2025

César Araújo’s Freekick BANGER

No one thought César would do what he did in the 33rd minute, standing over the free kick opposite Rafael Santos. The only person he needs to convince is Óscar Pareja, and in the post-game interview, he said César had all his confidence because of how hard he worked at practice. Well, that practice paid off to put the Lions ahead 1-0 in unbelievable fashion and sent the stadium into a frenzy. You have to see it.

Freeman Takes Center Stage in Spectacular First Start

While this was not Alex Freeman’s first official minutes for Orlando City, it was his first time in the starting XI. He wasted no time demonstrating why there’s so much faith in his outrageously high ceiling. When the spotlight was finally upon him, he grabbed his moment, and in iconic fashion. The moment almost reminds you of that one improbable catch made by his Super Bowl-winning father, former Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Antonio Freeman. Although it was not exactly a secret, it felt like we all found out around the same time that the two were related. While it’s important to judge each athlete on their own individual merit, accomplishments, and attributes, it’s hard not to compare Alex’s skills and talent to that of his father. Antonio Freeman was known for being a reliable, clutch-play-making baller. He was versatile with an exceptional Football IQ that enabled him to play any Wide Receiver position (something that was far less common than today’s NFL). Alex is proving that he is someone other teams will have to plan for and pay attention to, and he’s going to change how opponents line up against Orlando City. Alex had a nearly perfect first half, only putting a foot wrong once or twice, and absolutely terrorizing Toronto’s defense, who seemed caught totally off guard. His efforts were rewarded when Kyle Smith found him on a cross-field switch. Alex then muscled his defender off the ball before turning on the jets and finishing off the breakaway. 

Here’s a look at Freeman’s goal to put #OrlandoCity up 2-0.pic.twitter.com/b8wcs4fUEu

— Gustavo Chacon (@onaPSIh) March 2, 2025

Martín Ojeda Scores An Emotional Goal

The third goal for Orlando City came in the second half by way of a Martín Ojeda, a heart and hustle goal. Newcomer Designated Player, Marco Pasalic, could not find much momentum attacking. Likewise, Ojeda ran himself into the ground, scaring up opportunities, but was rewarded by an assist from (who else) César Araújo. Ojeda split his defenders and sent Sean Johnson the wrong way before slotting in home. He celebrated by lifting his jersey to reveal a t-shirt in remembrance of his recently departed grandmother and was moved to tears before play kicked off again. 

This one is for La Nona 🙏🏼
Martin Ojeda honors the memory of his abuelita who recently passed by scoring this quality goal! #OrlandoCity leads 3-1 after giving up a goal a few minutes after.#VanosOrlandopic.twitter.com/bv59BY4NhB

— Gustavo Chacon (@onaPSIh) March 2, 2025

Dagur Dan Gets His Flowers At His Best Position, On His First Touch

Substituted into the game in the 80th minute, it seemed like Dagur Dan would come on for Alex Freeman, who covered more ground than anyone on the evening. However, Pareja brings off Ojeda, who plays Center Attacking midfielder. This is not as unusual as it seems, even if it might be rare, because that’s his natural position and where he played most of his career in Iceland. Once again, Papi’s genius is rewarded, and this time after only about 60 seconds of Dagur Dan even being on the field. By the time anyone realized he wasn’t going to the position where he typically plays, Right Back, he was already making the most of the opportunity with one of his trademark darting runs. Only this time, he was sprinting directly through the heart of the defense. Enrique worked his tail off to get on the end of a seemingly harmless through ball from Muriel, who then broke right at the goal and called for the return pass. Enrique obliged, feeding it back to Muriel, drawing in the defenders who thought they had him contained, only for Dagur Dan to streak through the defense to receive a perfectly weighted through ball that left the Toronto center-back tripping over his own feet as Thor collected it and scored with almost the same touch. It was a wonderful team goal that was beautifully creative.

On a night where tensions were high, the team delivered, and man, were they were fun to watch. 

 

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