Philadelphia Union opened their 2025 season with an exciting win against Orlando City, defeating the hosts 4-2 on the road at Inter & CO Stadium. Recap of Matchday 1 by the numbers:
1 - Saturday’s match was Philadelphia Union’s first with Head Coach Bradley Carnell at the helm.
“I’m just happy for the players. Over the last five, six weeks we’ve prepared for this game, we've had some really good opponents, and we've challenged the players in many ways. For them to come out and be challenged here in this game was kind of a microcosm of the whole preseason,” Carnell said postgame.
“We got a goal down, and then we were chasing a little bit, we lose our structure. Coming out the second half, we corrected one or two things, and then all of a sudden, you can change the picture in a million ways. We did do that in transition. We really did exactly what we wanted to do from the beginning of the game. So proud of the boys to show a little bit of courage and resilience.”
2 - Baribo bagged a brace on the night, making for his sixth career multi-goal match.
3 - Daniel Gazdag’s 48th minute goal marked his third straight year scoring in Philadelphia Union’s season opener. He became the eighth player in Major League Soccer history to achieve this feat.
4 - Philadelphia Unions came from behind after going down 1-0 in the eight minute to score four goals against Orlando City. Tai Baribo leveled the match in the 24th minute, and after halftime, the entire front three in Baribo, Daniel Gazdag, and Mikael Uhre came out aggressive, each scoring a goal in the second 45.
“We have a good connection. Last season when I started to play, I started to know Mikael and Dani more, and I'm happy that we continue this,” Baribo said.
4 - Four Philadelphia players made their Union debut against Orlando. Olwethu Makhanya, Frankie Westfield, Jovan Lukic, and Ian Glavinovich each earned their first minutes in Blue and Gold.
“We are one unit. You can see it in the training, everybody supporting each other. Doesn't matter if you play, if you don't play, you’re on the bench. The players from Union II. We are really one unit. We accept the new guys that came and we gave them confidence," Baribo said.
4 - With four goals against Orlando, the Union tied their record for most goals scored in a season opener, set in 2023 with a 4-1 win against Columbus Crew.
15 - Frankie Westfield became the 15th Homegrown player in club history to make a start and just the 10th to start the season opener. He earned his first career assist in his debut.
300 - Team captain Andre Blake recorded his **300th** appearance with the club, finishing the match with six saves.
