How They Got Here: Orlando City Pushing for Second Open Cup Title in Five Years
Orlando City SC heads to Ohio to face Columbus Crew in Open Cup Semifinal on Wednesday, Sept. 16
With new playmakers entering the picture and a growing sense of consistency under interim head coach Martín Perelman, Orlando City SC is on the brink of becoming the 25th club to win the U.S. Open Cup on multiple occasions across the tournament’s 111 editions. Here’s how OCSC booked its place in the Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since winning it all five years ago.
“It’s exciting to see all that hard work pay off.” 👏
— Golazo America (@GolazoAmerica) May 20, 2026
Griffin Dorsey reflects on the team’s mentality after reaching @OrlandoCitySC’s first @opencup semifinals since 2022 🟣 pic.twitter.com/Bm5yC5QzZ1
How Things Started
Though Orlando City was coming off a sixth consecutive MLS Cup Playoffs appearance, the Lions concluded the 2025 regular season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference—the lowest since head coach Óscar Pareja took over following back-to-back 11th-place finishes in the Eastern Conference in 2018 and 2019.
Despite over half a decade of respectable results—a 2022 Open Cup title, a second-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings (2023), and a slew of Semifinal or Quarterfinal finishes in the MLS Cup Playoffs (2020, 2023, 2024), Leagues Cup (2025), and the MLS is Back Tournament (2020)—Pareja entered his seventh season as Orlando’s coach on the hot seat. A three-match losing streak to open the 2026 campaign sealed the Colombian manager’s fate, as Pareja and the club mutually agreed to part ways early in the season.
Pareja was replaced by his Argentine assistant, Martín Perelman. Since his first match in charge—a 2-1 win against CF Montréal—the 40-year-old coach has brought a renewed sense of consistency to the club. Since a pair of back-to-back blowout losses in his second and third match at the helm, Perelman’s side has not lost consecutive matches, posted a 11W-7L-4D record across all competitions, snuck above the postseason line and returned to the Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since winning it all in 2022.
Orlando Overcomes Persistent Naples Side
Round of 32: FC Naples 0 – 1 Orlando City SC
Orlando staved off a valiant effort from USL League One side FC Naples at Paradise Coast Sports Complex. In front of a sold-out crowd, the second-year League One club matched up well against the MLS side in the hosts’ first encounter with a first-division club in official competition. Naples maintained statistical advantages in shots (20-17), shots on target (8-4), possession (53%-47%) and tackles won (21-8), but the difference was a seven-save performance from Orlando goalkeeper Javier Otero and a match-winning strike from Trinidad and Tobago international Tyrese Spicer. The win confirmed Orlando’s position in the Round of 16 for the second consecutive season, something they haven’t done since the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
Goals Galore and a Stoppage-Time Winner in Rhode Island
Round of 16: New England Revolution 3 – 4 Orlando City SC
Orlando returned to the Quarterfinals for the first time in five years after surviving a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair in Pawtucket, R.I., against a New England Revolution side that was riding a six-match unbeaten run. Aside from goals by 34-year-old Revs legend Andrew Farrell—his first since 2018—and former Open Cup champion Griffin Dorsey for Orlando, the youth movement was on full display for both sides.
For New England, 20-year-old Malcolm Fry bagged his first senior team goal in the first half before U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team forward and Real Salt Lake loanee Marcos Zambrano scored his first Revs goal in the second half. For Orlando, Brazil youth international Iago Teodoro scored his first OCSC goal, U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team forward Justin Ellis scored for the second time in as many matches, and 20-year-old Orlando native and Homegrown product Zakaria Taifi netted his first senior team goal. The victory extended Orlando’s unbeaten streak against New England to six consecutive matches and knotted up the all-time series at 8W-8L-8D.
Unabashed Domination Against Rival Atlanta
Quarterfinals: Orlando City SC 4 – 1 Atlanta United FC
Orlando City SC throttled rival Atlanta United FC in the Quarterfinals at Inter&Co Stadium, defeating the visiting Five Stripes with a four-goal first half that equaled its largest margin of victory against its Southeastern foe. Slovenia international David Brekalo wasted no time opening the scoring, nodding in a close-range header in the fifth minute. Just over 10 minutes later, Griffin Dorsey scored his second goal against Atlanta in four days, slotting in the eventual winner in the 16th minute. 21-year-old Brazilian winger Tiago rounded out the lopsided first half with his first brace for the Lions to double the hosts’ advantage.
For the final 45 minutes, Orlando sat back and absorbed the Atlanta pressure, conceding only once—an 84th-minute strike from Ivory Coast international Emmanuel Latte Lath, his first Open Cup goal. The victory sealed Orlando’s trip to the Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2022.
Big-Name Additions Bolster Second-Half Push
Bolstered by the summer arrivals of former French World Cup champion and Atlético Madrid all-time leading scorer Antoine Griezmann and former U.S. Men’s National Team striker Daryl Dike, the Lions have found their footing since the World Cup break. Orlando kicked things off with a pair of bit shut-out victories against MLS Cup-contending San Jose Earthquakes and Nashville SC and registered a 1W-1L-1D Leagues Cup campaign which featured a win against CF Monterrey and a penalty-kick shootout win against San Luis.
The pair of new attacking talents have already started off strong; Griezmann has five goals and three assists across all competitions, while Dike found the back of the net twice in August. Elsewhere, Argentine midfielder Martín Ojeda has followed up his career-best 20-goal 2025 with 11 goals in only 16 league matches, while U.S. Under-19 Men's National Team forward and Homegrown talent Justin Ellis has been a revelation for the Lions this year.The 19-year-old has tallied three goals across all competitions and a team-best six assists.
Defensively, the club also welcomed Brazilian left back Vinícius Nogueira on loan from PFC Ludogorets last week with the goal of shoring up a back line that has allowed a joint-league-high 54 goals this season. First-year Orlando defender and 2023 Open Cup champion Griffin Dorsey has been all over the pitch as well, knocking in a career-high five goals across all competitions this season.
Finally, captain and all-time appearances leader Robin Jansson has returned after recovering from foot surgery that sidelined him at the start of the season.The 34-year-old former Sweden international defender is one of four players on Orlando’s current roster (Wilder Cartagena, Iván Angulo, Javier Otero) that won the Open Cup with the club in 2022.
What’s at Stake
Orlando City is seeking its seventh trophy in club history and second since joining MLS in 2015. After starting off with three USL Championship Players’ Shields (2011, 2012, 2014) and two USL Championship titles (2011, 2013), Orlando has claimed only one additional trophy: the Open Cup in 2022. After a decade of near misses in other competitions, a second Open Cup title—and a subsequent return to the Concacaf Champions Cup for the first time since 2024—would be a vindicating achievement for Orlando.
A victorious Open Cup run would also confirm Orlando as just the eighth MLS side to conquer the prestigious tournament on multiple occasions, simultaneously joining the likes of Chicago Fire FC, Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders FC and the LA Galaxy as the only MLS sides to win the Open Cup twice in the span of five years. Orlando—which joined the 1989 champion St. Petersburg Kickers in 2022 as the only teams from Florida to win the Open Cup—would also become the first club from the Sunshine State to win the Open Cup multiple times.
Orlando will first need to handle business in Columbus. A Semifinal tilt against the Crew—a side the Lions have not lost to since 2024—at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (Sept. 16, 7 p.m. ET / Paramount+, CBS Sports Network) is next and could feature Open Cup debuts for both Griezmann and Dike.
Should Orlando win, the club would host a second Open Cup Final in Orlando, taking on the winner of the second Semifinal (Sept. 16, 9:30 p.m. ET / Paramount+, CBS Sports Network): either the Colorado Rapids or St. Louis CITY SC—both eager to claim their first Open Cup title.