MLS is back, and Philadelphia Union is set to kick off their 2025 regular season campaign this weekend against Orlando City SC. They’ll play their opening match at Inter & Co Stadium on Saturday, February 22nd in the Sunshine State, donning their newly released 'Voltage' kit for the very first time.
The match ahead marks the club’s very first with Head Coach Bradley Carnell at the helm – he signed as the club’s fourth-ever manager in January. Since his arrival, Carnell has been diligently instilling his philosophy and playing style within the team during preseason training stints in Marbella, Spain and Clearwater, Florida.
Carnell is one of many new faces – in the offseason, Sporting Director Ersnt Tanner fortified the first team with three new international players in Ian Glavinovich, Jovan Lukic, and Bruno Damiani, four homegrowns, and a matchday -1 add in USMNT midfielder Indiana Vassilev. While not all newcomers will play a role in Saturday’s opener, it’s very likely that there will be faces fresh to the Major League Soccer stage earning their first minutes in Blue and Gold in Week 1.
Per Carnell’s Thursday afternoon press conference, the only players not yet cleared to play due to injury are outside backs Nate Harriel and Isaiah LeFlore. He spoke to depth of that position group in particular – citing a vet and a newly signed first-teamer as the two options to line up opposite Kai Wagner come Saturday night.
“Olivier Mbaizo and Frankie Westfield, I mean, we have, we have some really good options there, and we've been experimenting a little bit in preseason,” Carnell said.
“Frank has been with us for a couple of weeks now, so it's good to get guys different reps and different looks with different groups.”
Orlando City SC enters this season following a 2024 campaign that saw Oscar Pareja’s squad finish fourth in the East at the end of the regular season, then ultimately fall to New York Red Bull in the conference final. Despite recent success, they’ve recently had some late personnel changes. On Tuesday, the club parted ways with Uruguayan midfielder Nico Lodeiro, and on that same day, they announced midfielder Wilder Cartagena had undergone surgery after suffering a season-ending injury during a preseason friendly. Earlier in the offseason, they also sold their all-time leading scorer in Facundo Torres, but there’s been some strong additions since, including Nicolás Rodríguez from Fortaleza, DP Marco Pašalić from HNK Rijeka, and Eduard Atuesta from Palmeiras.
Orlando City got the best of Philly twice last year, winning both contests by just one goal, but both teams enter 2025 with new pieces and a clean slate. Saturday night marks the first test for both sides – don’t miss the action, tune in at 7:30pm on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
