Orlando City vs. Atlas FC (Leagues Cup)
When: Saturday, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Attend: Single-Match Tickets
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' second match in Leagues Cup in "The Road Ahead"
Milestones
- At 13g/14a in all competitions, Martín Ojeda is one goal contribution away from surpassing Facundo Torres’ 2024 season (20g/7a) as the most productive in Orlando City history.
- Ojeda has a goal contribution in eleven consecutive matches, a club record he can extend to twelve with a goal or an assist on Saturday.
- Ojeda ranks fifth in club history with 26 goals, two behind Duncan McGuire in fourth. Ramiro Enrique is tied for sixth with Kaká at 25 goals.
- Robin Jansson is 100 minutes away from becoming the first Orlando City player to reach 20,000 minutes played for the club in all competitions.
Stats & Storylines
- It was yet another draw for Orlando City against a Liga MX side on Wednesday, as a late goal from Coco Carrasquilla canceled out Rodrigo Schlegel’s opener and the Lions drew Pumas UNAM 1-1 in their Leagues Cup opener. Pumas took the extra point 4-3 in penalties. Orlando City has drawn six of its nine all-time matches against Mexican sides.
- Martín Ojeda, whose corner kick found Schlegel’s head for the Orlando goal, set a new Orlando City single-season assist record on Wednesday with his 14th helper of the campaign. Ojeda and Nicolás Lodeiro both recorded 13 assists last season to set the previous mark.
- Ojeda provided either a goal or an assist in every single match Orlando City played in both June and July. His last game without a goal contribution was on May 24 against the Portland Timbers. The Argentine has 5g/10a over his last 11 matches.
- Schlegel’s goal was just the fourth of his 166-match Orlando City career and his first since September 28 of last year, when he scored against FC Dallas. It was his first goal at home since his famous quarterfinal equalizer deep in stoppage time against Nashville SC in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which the Lions would go on to win.
- While Orlando City has been among the best away teams in MLS this year, its home form has dipped after an extremely strong start to the season. After a seven-game unbeaten run in the league at Inter&Co Stadium from early March through late May, the Lions have gone 0-3-2 in their last five home games, including the draw against Pumas. Orlando has dropped seven points in the 80th minute or later over its last three home games.
Series History
All-time vs. Atlas - First meeting
Meet the opponent: Atlas FC
- Atlas has existed in some form since 1916 and was one of the founding members of Liga MX in 1943. Los Rijonegros won their first title in 1951, then waited 70 years for their second in the 2021 Apertura. They would not have to wait long for the third – Atlas won the 2022 Clausura as well, making it one of just three bicampeones (back-to-back champions) since Liga MX went to a split season in 1996.
- Atlas suffered a cruel defeat in Fort Lauderdale in its Leagues Cup opener on Wednesday. After equalizing late, the Guadalajara side fell victim to an intricate Miami team goal finished by Marcelo Weigandt deep in second half stoppage time to fall 2-1.
- Los Rijonegros did not have a strong 2024/25 season, sneaking into the liguilla (Liga MX’s playoffs) in the Apertura but falling in the play-in round, then coming 14th in the Clausura. Atlas is 1-1-1 to start the 2025 Apertura, ranking second in the league with seven goals scored but featuring the worst defensive record in Liga MX with eight conceded.
- Atlas’ top scorer is Montenegro international Uroš Đurđević, who came over last July after six years in the Spanish second division and took Liga MX by storm, scoring 12 goals in just 1663 league minutes. Đurđević has been limited to start the new season, scoring just once in four appearances.
- Other notable players for Atlas include attacker Eduardo “El Mudo” Aguirre, a Mexican international who returned a solid 8g/3a last season; winger Arturo González, on loan from Monterrey where he played nearly 250 games; and goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, Colombia’s No. 1 who has faced off numerous times with Pedro Gallese in CONMEBOL competition.
- Atlas is managed by former Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda, a former El Tri staple who took over the Guadalajara club last December. Pineda took Atlanta to the playoffs twice in parts of four seasons in charge and won an MLS Cup as an assistant on the 2019 Seattle Sounders.
