Orlando City SC With Their Early Season Struggles
Orlando City opened the 2026 MLS season with the weight of expectation, but their early performances have carried none of the urgency of a team aiming to contend. Their home opener, a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls, immediately exposed structural problems. New York controlled the match and forced Maxime Crépeau, one of Orlando's major offseason additions, to make 13 saves, a number that kept the scoreline respectable but underscored how often the Lions were carved open. The match also highlighted the impact of roster turnover, as the club continues to adjust to the departures of Alex Freeman and Rodrigo Schlegel, two defenders who were part of the team's core.
Their problems resurfaced a week later in the first Florida derby of the season, where Orlando fell 4-2 to Inter Miami. Miami's attack repeatedly found space in wide channels and in transition, exposing gaps that Orlando never managed to close. With newcomers such as Luis Otávio and Iago Teodoro still adapting to MLS tempo, the defensive unit struggled to remain compact or organized for extended periods. Miami, meanwhile, entered the match looking to rebound from a scoreless opening loss, and their urgency contrasted sharply with Orlando's uneven rhythm.
The early results have also revived preseason concerns about whether Orlando's roster was strengthened or simply reshuffled. Analysts questioned whether adding Crépeau and midfielder Braian Ojeda meaningfully elevated the squad or merely covered the holes left by outgoing players like Pedro Gallese and Alex Freeman. The club's offseason lacked the kind of headline additions that signal upward momentum, and the first two matches have reflected that uncertainty. Instead of looking like a team building on past playoff ambitions, Orlando has resembled a group still trying to understand how all the pieces fit together.
Two games do not define a season, but they can reveal patterns, and Orlando's early pattern is one of a contender struggling to find its heartbeat. Their defensive shape has been inconsistent, their midfield hasn't controlled matches the way Pareja's teams typically do, and their attack has lacked a clear focal point. With a road match against New York City FC next on the schedule, the Lions face an early test of resilience. Whether they can steady themselves quickly, or whether these opening weeks signal deeper structural issues, will shape the trajectory of their season far more than the scorelines alone.
